Brace for Impact
by Groundis
Summary: This was the farthest outside the Lylat system Fox had ever gone on a mission for Corneria. When the entire operation collapsed around him, he barely managed to escape with his life - and with someone else's life too. Watch as our favorite team fights their way through the galaxy in an epic story, finding both allies and enemies in unexpected places.
1. Act I: Chapter 1 Escape

Hey guys, this is Groundis! This is my first time posting, but I've been reading stuff here for a long time. I'm a long time Star Fox fan, and I've had this idea for a story in my head for a few months now. So far, I have pretty much every detail of the first 8 chapters planned out, and I know pretty much how the whole story arc is gonna go. I hope you enjoy it! I know I've had a lot of fun writing this and planning it out. ^_^

Just a few notes about the story. First, this isn't adhering strictly to the canon universe or anything, and I'm making changes where I want to and where I think it'll help the story. That being said, I'm also not venturing very far off the beaten path, think of this as more of a re-hashing of the Star Fox story than anything. Anyway, let me know what you think! I'll have chapter two out soon probably. And yeah, this is gonna be a pretty hefty story. I'm looking forward to the challenge. :D Also, this chapter's not terribly upbeat, but don't worry, this isn't a super-dark evil story or anything. The mood will lighten considerably as time passes, I promise! Oh yeah, and whenever I plan out an action-y scene like this, I usually have a song that I base it around. If you're curious, the song for this one is This Life by OLWIK. You don't have to listen or anything, just if you want to hear what I was listening to while I was planning this one out.

Anyway, that's that! Let me know what you guys think and if you want moar. I mean, you're getting more either way, I love this story I have planned out way too much to let it just sit there. But you know. Encouragement and criticism is always nice. :P But without further ado, I present:

BRACE FOR IMPACT

Chapter 1 | Escape

Twigs snapped underfoot as Fox's boots pounded against the ground. Breathing heavily, he almost tripped on a stray vine of ivy, but managed to keep his footing as he ran. Light filtered lazily through the canopy above him, briefly illuminating a few leaves as they drifted slowly to the floor below. He shook his head, knowing he couldn't afford to share their lackadaisical attitude. He glanced down at a timer he had set earlier on his communicator as he ran towards the Great Fox's landing zone. Thirteen minutes, twenty-one seconds left. He muttered a curse under his breath, putting his head down and picking up the pace.

If he'd been able to stop and look around for a moment, he would have been struck by just how serene the landscape around him was. Huge, dark trees towered into the sky, hugged tight by winding strands of moss. The soil was loamy and soft, broken by patches of underbrush and wildflowers. Huge boulders jutted from the earth, their sharp edges casting equally sharp shadows on the dirt. The breeze carried a faint scent of lavender and pine, and an impenetrable layer of birdsong echoed through the forest. It was breathtaking. It was also doomed. This was Cerinia; a bastion of nature that had only thirteen short minutes left in existence. And Fox was stuck on its surface.

He growled, whispering a few more choice curses. "Dammit. This sort of stuff happens way too often to me." He tried to remember how he'd ended up here. He'd been about to collect the data sphere he needed, when suddenly everything had gone to hell. Peppy's frantic face had appeared on his communicator, warning him the entire planet was rigged to blow in the next twenty minutes. His only hope was to make it back to landing zone, board, and pray the Great Fox could make it out in time. It'd be a close call, but the ship should be able to get out of the atmosphere in the nick of time...

"But only if I'm quick about it."

He doubled down again, quickening his pace so he was now veritably tearing through the forest. His blaster clacked against his belt with each step, but he didn't hear it. Sweat dripped from his brow due to the tropical climate, but he didn't feel it. He was solely focused on remembering the route off this rock. He didn't even want to be here in the first place. It was a small planet that was well out of the way of anywhere important. Cornerian command had contacted him a few months ago, assigning him to get to Cerinia and retrieve a special data sphere. He glanced down at it now, clutched tightly in his paw. He had no idea what was on it, but for as much trouble as this was, it better have been good. "If this doesn't hold the secret to paying off the loan for the Great Fox, I quit," he panted. Corneria had never asked him to go so far outside the Lylat system for a mission before this. The trip alone had taken weeks. When he had originally seen the coordinates of the planet, he had to check it twice to make sure he wasn't misreading.

He immediately pinged Peppy after getting the message, a little surprise still registered on his face. After a few moments, the toothy grin of the older hare popped up on his communicator. Seeing Peppy trying not to laugh, Fox knew immediately the message wasn't an error. Fox laughed himself, holding his head in his hands and leaning back a little in his chair.

"You sure you don't want to shave a few zeroes off those coordinates you sent us, Peppy?" Fox asked, still grinning a little. Peppy let out a little chuckle at that, managing to stifle a larger laugh.

"Not this time Fox. Better stock up, you've got quite the road trip ahead of you."

"So it seems," the vulpine replied, looking up at the message again, shaking his head. "What's so important out on Cerinia?"

Peppy shrugged. "They won't tell me. All I know is there's some data out there they need you to pick up, and it must be important if they're sending Star Fox all that way."

Grumbly, nervous, and lost in thought, Fox began to seriously consider the merits of leaving Star Fox to be a stock broker. He looked around, trying to get his bearings. His eyes flashed with relief as he started to recognize where he was. "A couple more minutes of this," he thought, "and I should be in the clear." He smiled a little out of relief, shoulders relaxing just a bit. He ducked under a low branch, then vaulted a thick tree root. There would be plenty of time to make it out at this rate. He looked down at his communicator again. Ten minutes, forty-two seconds; more than enough time to clear the atmosphere.

As he was looking down at his wrist, however, his eyes picked up on a subtle change in the color of the dirt below. The ground was a bit softer here too, and it seemed to slope downwards more than usual. His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, but he was powerless to stop it. He got a sick feeling in his stomach as the brush beneath his feet gave way, and he stumbled into a sinkhole he hadn't noticed in his rush. A thin vine snapped as he desperately tried to grab hold of anything, but his speed had gone from a blessing to a curse. He let out a less-than-intimidating yip as he went into free fall.

He felt his leg slam against the hard stone wall of the sinkhole, and his torso soon followed suit. Instinct kicked in, and he raised his hands above his head, protecting it from the battering that was soon to come. He maneuvered his legs beneath him so he could try to roll out of the landing at the bottom. In doing so though, he bashed his knee against an outcropping of rock. He grunted lightly at this, definitely feeling the impact, but his durable flight suit taking the brunt of the hit. Still, that'd hurt tomorrow. The walls took one last shot at him, and a root caught him lightly in the hip. Fox barely noticed though. He needed to prepare for a much larger hit, not from the walls, but from the floor. He'd practiced this hundreds of times, from much higher drops than this. In the split second before he touched down, he bent his knees slightly and hunched his back over, curling up a little. Muscle memory kicked in, and when he felt his feet make contact, instead of panicking and locking up, he let his knees collapse for a second longer, storing the energy of the impact. He then immediately pushed his legs out with as much force as he could muster, transforming himself from a plummeting stone to a hurtling cannonball. He ducked and rolled, letting his back grind through the dirt as he slid to a halt. He laid still for a moment after that, allowing his breath come back to him while simultaneously confirming to himself that he was not dead. He noticed himself breathing steadily, providing an answer on both counts.

Figuring he'd earned a small break, he laid there for a few extra moments, only lifting his head to examine the rest of his body. He didn't immediately see any broken limbs or lacerations. He nodded satisfactorily, still breathing deep. He let his head re-join the rest of his body in its relaxation, and it hit the dirt with a thud. Staring at the ceiling, he observed the area around him was virtually pitch black. The only sources of light were the beams of light trickling in from the sinkhole he'd just slid down, and the faint glow from the screen of his communicator. He pulled his arms away from their vacation ahead of schedule, and clicked on his communicator's flashlight. His surroundings were illuminated by its blaze, and he looked around as he continued to enjoy laying on the ground.

"Huh," he remarked, a little dazed from the fall still.

He found himself in a cavernous expanse. The walls were lined with hard grey stone, providing a border to several clusters of deep blue quartz. Stalactites clung to the ceiling, and if he managed to get on his feet eventually, he could probably reach up and touch some of the longer ones. In the middle of the space was a shallow pool of murky water, rich with minerals leeched from the surrounding stone. Nature had somehow even managed to invade down here, and a thin moss grew near the water bed. On the far wall, he could see the cave continued into darkness. He decided to do one more thing before coming back from his break. Clicking over to see the timer, he groaned, head hitting the dirt once more. He had ten minutes and twenty seconds to find a way out of here and back to the Great Fox.

"I'd say that's enough of a break for now," he sighed, rising to his feet.

It was quickly apparent that he wasn't getting out the way he came in. The hole in the ceiling above was too far up, and even if he had been able to reach it, the stone was too smooth to get a proper hold on. Left with only one other option, he jogged to the dark opening on the other side of the cave, careful not to slip on the slick stone. He shined the flashlight into the passage. It was more cave, this time long and narrow, the quartz more apparent as it glinted blue in the light. As he walked through, his hand reached out and snagged a loose shard, and he pocketed it. He liked the thought that if he made it off this planet alive, at least a little of it could come with him.

The path was narrow here, sometimes only barely wide enough for him to slide through sideways. Everything was damp, and the distant echo of water droplets hitting the floor filled the space. The veins of quartz seemed to grow more abundant the further he went along this path. He unholstered his blaster and carried it lightly in his right hand just to be safe, but he wasn't too worried about running into any hostiles down here. Every once in a while, the path would open up into a large expanse like he had fallen into originally. Luckily, every time he found himself in one of those areas, there was always another continuation of the cave on the far side.

He continued on for another minute, squeezing through a few tight gaps and climbing up a few ledges. Walking further and further though, a strange feeling began growing in the back of his mind. At first, it was just a small prick of curiosity. He shook his head, trying to focus, but the premonition persisted. Eventually, it evolved into an overwhelming sense that something very important was nearby. It felt like somebody was whispering into his ear, making sure he knew something vital was about to happen. Normally, he would have just ignored the feeling and kept looking for a way out, but... for whatever reason, Fox felt compelled to figure out what was happening. The feeling pushed him on through the winding cave, turning him left, then right at forks in the road, up a ledge and directly through another small pond, until...

He found himself face to face with an ornate stone door that was carved right into the wall itself. The edging around the heavy entrance was inscribed with the twisting form of some flying creature, and through it, a long hallway led to a final room at end. Fox shivered. He could tell that whatever was causing this feeling in his head was in there. He took a step forward, the flying figure on the door passing overhead. The hallway was lit by torches set in heavy iron sconces. Their flames lapped at the walls, and cast a playful light on the lofty ceiling. The passage was adorned with heavy red drapes. His boots clicked softly against the tiles on the floor, each one a radiant blue color. They were carved from the same blue quartz from earlier, he noticed.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the grand wooden door at the end. Somewhere in his brain, his subconscious was screaming at him to kick it in gear, find an exit, and get off this planet before he was vaporized. That voice was completely drowned out by the overwhelming presence he felt in his mind, emanating from the other side of the door. He reached out and put both hands on its soft wood, feeling a slight tingle in his fingers as he did. He pushed heavily, slowly forcing the doors to groan open.

Fox let out an audible gasp.

The room on the other side was actually rather small and plain compared to the hallway before it. A few more red tapestries hung from the walls, and a similar rug stretched across the contrasting sea of tile. Candles were set in inlays along the walls, slowly smoking and putting off a flickering light into the room. Fox didn't notice any of this. He was totally enraptured by one thing set in the dead center of the room, the thing that was calling out to his mind.

A huge blue crystal stood tall in the center off the room, letting off a radiant light. Inside was the floating form of a fox with brilliant blue fur. She was dressed simply, with sparkling gold jewelry hanging lightly around her head and neck. A few small tattoos marked her body; two bands wrapped around her upper arms and a sun-like symbol on each of her legs. Fox stood absolutely still, stunned by how beautiful she was. She looked peaceful suspended in the crystal, and as he drew closer to her still, the intensity of the feeling in his mind only increased. She was the source. At the risk of sounding crazy... it was almost like she was calling out to him. He had to get her out of that prison, somehow.

He happened to notice a small golden rod lying next to blue fox's container. He bent down to pick it up, wincing as he felt bruises forming around where he'd fallen earlier. As soon as he touched it, he felt sparks race along his arm. It immediately reacted to his grasp, expanding out into what appeared to be a staff of some kind. It was set with a dark purple gem at the end, which started glowing under his gaze. He knew he was halfway there now, with this staff in his hands. Then, much like earlier, another idea was planted into his head from seemingly out of nowhere. He looked the staff over, wondering exactly what secrets it held, but being totally convinced of the plan that he'd just been offered. He gulped, nervously readying the staff. Eyes closed, he let out a deep breath. Then, he swung the end of the staff towards the large crystal with as much power as he could muster.

The purple gem at the end of the staff hurtled towards the blue vixen's container. Fox flinched slightly, expecting, at best, the staff to just bounce off embarrassingly, or at worst, to snap with a deafening sound and spray him with shards of purple quartz. To his surprise and relief, neither of these things happened. Instead, as soon as the staff made contact with the crystal, its momentum was totally canceled. Fox expected to hear the dull crack of metal against stone, but instead, a single note rang out, pure. He sighed, relieved he'd done the right thing. Now, he just had to wait.

The note carried for a few more seconds. Before it dwindled into non-existence, however, the crystal container suddenly let out a large crack. A number of bright fissures were exposed on its surface. Fox could feel a substantial heat being put off by the container now. The glow of the cracks slowly faded, and as they did, the container began to crumble around the blue fox. The heat dissipated, and with it, the rest of the vixen's prison.

Her eyes still closed, she collapsed to her knees where the crystal once stood. She breathed lightly, her chest rising and falling rhythmically every few seconds. Fox was relieved to see she looked mostly unharmed, but being trapped like that... Every cell in Fox's body screamed that he should run over to make she she was alright, but he was frozen, only able to wait in shocked silence. Soon enough, she lifted her head up, and her eyes fluttered open slowly. They were a deep turquoise, and when they locked with his, he couldn't help but let out another small gasp. He was immediately lost in her gaze. Eyes so deep and clear, full of both strength and softness, determination and happiness. He could have looked into them for an eternity and never grown bored. Fox blushed when he realized he was staring, and he looked down slightly.

She, on the other hand, almost seemed... relieved to see him? Honestly, Fox was willing to chalk that up to wishful thinking on his part. He shook his head a little. Now was very definitely not the time to be thinking about this. As she gained focus and took in her surroundings, her face quickly grew more serious, worry flitting in her eyes as she looked around the room. Eventually, she noticed the still-glowing staff in his hands, and that seemed to make everything click for her. Now it was her turn to gasp, her eyes widening. Fox could tell she was thinking for a long moment, the worry growing more apparent on her face with each passing second. She had clearly remembered something terrible. Considering that just moments ago she had been confined and unconscious, he could only guess what that memory might be. As it turned out though, he could do a little better than guess.

Suddenly, her face cleared of emotion, the worry and dread evaporating in an instant. She shut her eyes and clasped her hands together in front of her face, fingers intertwined. Her brow scrunched up, her mouth in a small grimace. A bead of sweat drifted down her cheek as she clutched her hands together tighter. She was incredibly focused on something. Still holding the staff, Fox reached out with his other hand to try and make sure she was alright. He didn't get very far.

Before, her eyes had opened gently and she had looked at him with a soft gaze. Not this time. Before Fox's hand could even reach out, her eyes flew open and began to glow a bright shade of ocean blue, a look of determination set on her face. Her jewelry and tattoos started to luminescence that same shade of cerulean. She held his gaze intently, her expression no longer meek and tired. Fox was rooted where he stood, tied to the ground by this stranger. For some reason though, he knew he wasn't in danger. He felt the presence, her presence, in the back of his head again, this time way more powerful and urgent. Somehow, she was tapping directly into his mind, constructing a mental bridge between her and himself.

Her eyes glowed brighter still. Almost as soon as it had started it ended; the link between them was firmly built. They both inhaled sharply at the feeling of the other inside their head, their consciousnesses pressed together. The area around them drained of color. The walls of the cave fading to a sterile white, the red tapestries growing coal black, leaving the pair as the only important, colorful thing in a whitewashed world.

Then, as if this all wasn't odd enough, Fox felt a sensation stranger than any of the others so far. He could feel the vixen tugging at his memory, slipping images from his past out into the open. He didn't resist her, and let her explore where she wanted. The sensation was actually fairly pleasant, like someone dusting the forgotten corners of his head. She drew out a recent memory, of the Star Fox team all arriving on Cerinia for their mission. Fox was boarding the Arwing, checking in with Falco and Slippy as they boarded the Sky Claw and Bullfrog respectively. Falco had just said something typically sarcastic to the pair of them, but Fox had been prepared. He smirked a little and spoke a short sentence directed at the avian. Slippy immediately had to stifle an outburst of laughing, and the bird clammed up, glowing bright red, unprepared for the vulpine's verbal riposte.

When the memory faded away, he could feel her planting something into his consciousness, rather than drawing it out from his mind. With as much clarity as he had seen his own memory, he now witnessed a scene of a small tribal village. Fox quickly realized this must be one of her memories she was playing for him. There were several foxes walking through the collection of houses, each with blue fur like hers. One or two of them had tattoos like hers as well, but most were unmarked. In the distance, Fox heard someone call out to her. The scene rotated as she turned around to see who wanted her attention. Two new foxes came into view. One was a well built, muscular man. He seemed jovial and had a wide smile plastered to his face. The other was a smaller woman, but despite her lithe frame, she looked just as strong as the man beside her. Her smile was warm, and she seemed thoughtful and kind. They both had markings that were nearly identical to the vixen's. Before the memory could disappear, Fox noticed the two were holding hands. Taking a shot in the dark, he guessed those were the blue fox's parents.

As the scene slipped from view, he could again feel her tugging at the corners of his mind. The memories were beginning to play faster now. He was moving cautiously through the underbrush of the Cerinian forest. He flicked his communicator's map on to make sure he was still going in the right direction. As the memory already began fading, an abandoned research facility came into view, well hidden in the overgrowth of the verdant planet. As soon as his image had left them, a new one of hers began. Now, she was hiking alone up a steep mountain. The wind blew through her fur and carried the scent of lavender into her nose. She stopped to sit on a rock, unhooking a metal canteen from her belt. Taking a sip from it, she looked up the path. As the image began to fade, Fox could barely make out an entrance of some sort set into the mountain.

She increased the pace further. Now he was inside the research facility, stepping gingerly over toppled bookcases and smashed glass vials. He held his blaster in one hand, and a flashlight in the other. There was a small scurrying noise to his left, and instinct kicked in as he immediately swung his blaster around to face the threat. Trigger discipline was all the stopped him from giving a few lose papers caught in the breeze some new piercings. He exhaled, calming his nerves. Then, he saw it out of the corner of his eye; a small black sphere jacked into a large computer mainframe. The scene blurred, but one of the vixen's memories soon picked up the slack. They were now in what looked like some kind of meditation room. The wooden floors groaned as she stepped across them, and the only lighting came from an army of candles lined up on the perimeter of the room. She walked over to a simple red pillow sitting on the ground in front of a large purple crystal shard. Fox couldn't help but notice the striking similarity between the crystal in this memory and the one she had been trapped in just moments ago. The scene began to leave them as she took a seat on the pillow and closed her eyes, focusing inwards.

It was strange how used to this Fox was already. He felt her pulling at another event, and he didn't resist. Now, the sphere from before was sitting right in front of him. He looked around the room once quickly before holstering his pistol. His hands worked the sphere free of its confinement, and it easily came unplugged from the mainframe. The communicator on his wrist blazed to life as he jacked the sphere into it. After confirming that it was indeed the sphere Corneria had sent him to retrieve, he made a quick backup of it before pocketing it and turning around. He took a few steps towards the exit, but didn't get very far before a call came in from Peppy. The picture blurred as he answered it. He only caught a second of the hare's frantic voice before it switched to one of her memories. He could feel ice at the bottom of his stomach. Before he could even see anything, this memory already filled him with an overwhelming sense of dread. She was still meditating, but she was seeing terrible visions; her village being destroyed, the entire canopy of the forest turned into an inferno. Eventually, the entire planet was reduced to nothing more than a smoldering ember. She gasped as her reverie was broken, reeling from what she had seen. Her entire planet, annihilated. She leapt to her feet, racing out the door of the meditation room, accidentally extinguishing a few of the candles along the way with her speed. She sprinted down the mountain she had just scaled, and the feeling of horror only grew during her descent. She had to warn everyone about what she had seen. The memory subsided just as her village came into view over a gentle hill.

They were moving through these memories at a breakneck pace now, but neither of them could slow down. They both needed the answers the other held. This time, she pulled a memory from only a few minutes prior. He was sprinting through the forest, leaving footprints in the soil. Peppy had just warned him about the impending destruction of he planet, and he was racing to get to the evacuation zone where the Great Fox would pick him up. At this, he could feel her shock. Her visions had been correct. The image continued as he vaulted a tree root, but only a few yards ahead was a sinkhole. He blushed, ears glowing bright red as he saw himself stumble and fall into it, producing a rather undignified yelp in the process. The memory went dark as he slammed up against the wall and rolled to a stop in the dirt below. A feeling of dread crept back into him as Fox saw the vixen being backed into a corner at her home. She was crying, pleading with the other villagers, but they all looked furiously at her. They lashed out at her as more and more people gathered around, snarls on their faces. She looked out at the crowd that had gathered around her, trying to pick out a single friendly face, but there were none to be found. In the back, she saw her parents. Fox could feel her momentary hope sparked by their faces, but it was soon dashed. They looked... disappointed. They turned around, and walked away from the crowd, leaving her alone. The vixen's face contorted in horror as they abandoned her, the tears coming stronger now. Even now, Fox could feel her sadness at watching this memory. Fox tried to express his sympathy over the link, and he felt a weak but earnest gratification from her. He could tell it did little to ease the pain though. The memory began to fade out as she collapsed to the ground, being restrained by the mob.

They had come too far to stop at a painful memory now. As they continually approached the present, the memories kept coming one after another. Now he saw himself from only a few minutes ago. He was wandering the tunnels of the cave. He looked like he was in a trance as he wandered closer and closer to the blue fox's resting place. Their memories started to overlap and converge. Before this recollection could even disappear, he could feel the her memory starting. As he wandered in his trance, in her memory, she cried out for help. Suddenly, she felt a warm presence on the outskirts of her consciousness. Fox realized that this warm presence was actually himself. She reached out to it, and begged it to come closer. In his memory, Fox obliged, seeking out the source of his curiosity.

It was getting harder to tell apart what was a memory and what was actually happening. Now, they saw themselves only seconds before, Fox in mid-swing towards the crystal, and the blue fox feeling overwhelming relief that someone had come to her rescue, to free her from her exile. The staff connected with her prison.

Fox heard a resounding snap. He jumped a little when not only the crystal cracked, but the entire world around him seemed to shatter. The vixen's eyes began to lose their glow, returning to their normal deep turquoise. Color slowly saturated the environment again, dispelling the black and white version they had been in before. He felt the mental bridge between them crumble, and before too long, there was a vacuum in his mind where she had been.

Broken from their stasis, all they could do was stare at each other for a few beats. Neither stirred as they processed what they just witnessed. Then, with a horrible cry, the blue fox sank to her knees, her head in her hands. Sobs wracked her body as the truth she had found in Fox's mind sank in. Her planet was doomed. The thought was too much. She looked hopeless.

Fox finally found movement in his limbs. He immediately rushed to the vixen's side. This was a pain he was all too familiar with. He wrapped one arm around her, the other pulling her head closer into his embrace. Losing everything - he understood her. She didn't resist him, burying her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. Tears fell from her face and stained his jacket. Fox didn't know why she was here, why her friends had turned on her, heck, he didn't even know her name. But he did know she wanted, more than anything, to protect the people that she loved. And he was acutely aware of the pain she felt when she couldn't do that. He pulled her closer.

Fox opened his mouth, speaking the first words between them. "I - I don't know why you're here, or why everyone turned their backs on you..." his mouth felt dry as he searched for the words. "But I know that you tried your best to defend them." He shook his head, still struggling for the right thing to say. "If they decide to spit on your help, then..." He swallowed hard, "then you can't tell yourself it's your fault. You can't." He pulled her back a little, looking into those bottomless eyes. He said exactly what she didn't want to hear. "You can't protect them anymore." She tensed at this, looking down and gritting her teeth. "But you can't let that stop you from protecting yourself. I can... I can get us off the planet before it..." He gulped, not wanting to say the next word. His voice gained a hint of desperation. "Please, come with me. You don't deserve this, not when all you wanted was to save them. Please." He begged, tilting her head up to look at him.

Slowly, her tears stopped, and her face hardened. He knew how hard his words were to accept. If he were in her place, he might not even believe it. "Please..." he begged in his mind. She took a deep breath, resigning herself. He was right, as impossible as that was to accept. She looked back at him, her gaze steeled. She nodded.

"Ok. Let's go," she whispered, pushing back her pain. Her voice was melodious, and Fox suddenly blushed as he realized he was still hugging her. He pulled back quickly, and the two stood up. She picked up her staff and gave it a few spins before fitting it in a holder on her back. Fox clicked on his communicator, and was surprised to see that only a few minutes had passed in the real world since he last checked, despite them having watched their memories for significantly longer than that. He was going to have a hell of a time explaining all this to Falco and Slip later on. Eight minutes, thirty-one seconds. They looked over at each other and nodded, both ready to go. They sprinted out of the small room, racing down the hallway. Fox had no idea how to get out of this cave system, but luckily, she seemed to know where she was going.

She grabbed his arm and lead him to the right, down a series of narrow passages that all looked the same to him. He was painfully aware of the seconds passing on the timer. Eventually, thankfully, they broke out into a large opening. The floor here slanted upwards, and Fox could see daylight pouring in from above. Scaling the slick floors would have been tricky at best, but luckily some stairs were already carved into the incline. They bounded up them, taking the steps three at a time.

The pair squinted as they emerged into the daylight. Fox sneezed, eyes irritated by the harsh sun. The blue fox had done her job; now, it was up to Fox to get them to the landing zone in time. He glanced down at his wrist. A little over six minutes. Eyes adjusted to the light, Fox quickly recognized that he was very near where he had originally fallen down the sinkhole. He was about to take off and lead the way, when he realized something was standing in his path.

Looking up, a trio of stone golems towered over the two, shifting their weight slightly and causing the ground to tremor. They each held an oversized version of the staff the vixen carried. Fox believed they didn't look terribly friendly.

Almost as if they were responding to this thought, each of the golems pointed their staff directly at him. The purple gems set in each began to glow. Fox quickly unholstered his pistol and crouched, ready to dodge their shots and respond in kind. He was surprised as the vixen's staff touched his hand, however, and she gently forced him to lower his weapon. He looked up at her with curiosity, but she was looking forward at the golems. She stepped towards them, and authoritatively slammed the end of her staff into the ground, making it stand tall next to her. She angrily called out a few words in a language Fox couldn't understand. At first, Fox thought the golems might not be able to understand it either, as their weapons continued to glow. He began to sweat a little, nervous.

After a long, tense moment however, the golems lowered their weapons and stood at attention. Slowly, Fox noticed debris falling off of the golem to the far right. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The golems had begun to crumble, huge boulders toppling to the ground. Soon, nothing remained but a pile of huge stones and three golden rods. Fox was dumbfounded, mouth hanging open a little. He tried to understand what he had just witnessed, the oddity of everything beginning to sink in. The blue fox didn't give him time to think, however. She quickly grabbed him by the arm, snapping him back to the issue at hand. He shook his head to refocus himself.

"The ship's landing over here. We need to run for it!" he said, shouting the last part over his shoulder towards her. They took off, sprinting for the clearing ahead. The terrain outside the cave was fairly tame, but as they neared their destination, it became harder to traverse. They came face to face with a short stone shelf. It was too tall to climb alone, but... Fox quickly got down on one knee, interlocking his fingers and making a firm surface. She understood immediately, and stepped into his hands. He quickly vaulted her up the stone outcropping, pushing his hands up and giving her the extra elevation she needed to clear the obstacle. Once she was up, she fell to her stomach and quickly offered her hand back down to Fox. He grabbed it, and pushed off the ground as she helped pull him up the sheer face. Nimbly, he hooked a leg around and scampered up. Only a few seconds after they had begun the maneuver, they were on their feet again, that much closer to the landing site. Fox was impressed, as if he needed more evidence that there more to this fox than met the eye. The trees were thinning out now, and the strong breeze made them drift and sway. They cast ever shifting shadows on the floor beneath. Fox could have sworn he briefly saw the flitting shadow of another person high in the canopy cover, but when he looked up, all he could see were verdant leaves. He shook his head, feeling entitled to his paranoia after today's insanity but dismissing it nonetheless.

Soon, a break in the trees appeared. Through there was the landing site. Fox flicked on his communicator and pinged the Great Fox. Slip responded almost immediately, both panic and relief clear in his expression. "Fox! Thank god you're ok. I saw your marker disappear off the map, and I didn't know what to do, I was so worried, I-" the frog rambled, but was interrupted by Falco appearing on the screen. He was in the Sky Claw, and his face showed that he was focused on not getting shot down.

"Save the waterworks Slip, we don't have long to get this done," Falco remarked, eyes locked forwards as he piloted. "You found your way over to the site yet, Fox?"

"We're almost there, just another minute," Fox replied, seeing the break in the forest grow closer.

Falco raised an eyebrow at this, peering towards his camera for a split second with a curious look before staring forward again. "We? Foxy, we talked about this, the voices in your head ain't real."

He glanced over at the vixen as she ran next to him. "In this case, they are. Prepare the airlock for two people."

The look on the avian's face only grew more confused, but any sarcastic response he was planning was put on hold by a rogue burst of fire that lit up his camera. He rolled and let loose his own shots. "Crap! There's a lot of 'em out here." He looked towards the camera again. "Whatever Orange, we'll sort this out later. I'm keeping Andross' ships off he Great Fox while it lands. Don't take too long boarding, I don't want to take out his entire fleet in one day. Falco out." His face disappeared from the screen, leaving Slippy behind. The frog was scrambling at the controls, pulling the Great Fox in for its landing.

"Not to side with Falco here or anything," the frog started, still reaching all around the cabin, "but the sooner we can take off, the better I'll feel. We already shaved off most of our extra time when you disappeared from the radar, so we're cutting it very, very close."

Fox nodded, acknowledging Slippy's concerns. "Just one more minute and we'll be onboard Slip. I'll see you in a few. Fox out." Fox tapped his communicator once and the frog's face disappeared, replaced with the much more disconcerting countdown timer. A hair under three minutes. Fox gulped as the two of them broke into the clearing, leaving the woods behind. Now free from the canopy of the trees, both of them looked up to the sky. It was peaceful for a moment, but that changed very quickly. Stray lasers broke the cloud line, lighting them up a bright red. After a moment, the Sky Claw dove into view, leveling out close to the ground. Two fighters were hot on its tail, and Fox immediately identified them as Venom ships. Falco engaged his airbrakes, slowing down mid flight. He tilted his nose up, looking like he was going to pull into a loop, but Fox knew better. He was trying to fake the other two fighters out, and they bought it. Anticipating the Sky Claw looping, the other two also pulled into a loop in an effort to stay behind him. Seeing they'd taken the bait, Falco quickly pulled out of his fake and opened the throttle, zooming around quickly to put a few rounds in both of their hulls. The ships fell to ground a few miles off in the forest. They exploded on impact, sending out an impressive shockwave. Falco shot off again after that, presumably going to swat down a few more hostiles nearby.

It was then that the Great Fox came into view. The vixen let out a small gasp when she saw it. It broke apart all of the clouds, its massive form slowly sinking towards the earth. Soon the entire ship was visible, the proud words "Star Fox" painted beneath their emblem. The grass beneath it flattened out under the powerful down drafts it was producing. The trees around the landing site began to sway, and the pair had to cover their eyes as it kicked up dirt and debris. Slowly, the ship came to a rest on the ground before them, a small ramp extending towards the back of the hull. This time, it was Fox to pull her out of her incomprehension. Coming back to her senses, the two made a beeline for the entrance.

They were halfway there when the blue fox's ear twitched. She heard an incredibly faint sound far off to their right. It was a sound she'd encountered a million times in her life.

Click.

Everything happened very, very quickly once she heard that noise. Pure instinct kicked in as she hit the dirt, tackling Fox to the ground with her in the process. Fox's eyes widened in shock as he felt the vixen grab him, but she moved to quickly for him to react. He stumbled to the ground, splayed out flat, chest hitting the ground hard. Before he could even open his mouth to cry out in surprise, a thundering crack was let loose far off to their left. Something very loud and very fast tore through the air directly above them in the next millisecond, producing a deafening whistle as it passed directly through where they had been standing. Fox was suddenly rather grateful he had been tackled. The projectile let off one final snap as it buried itself deep in the trunk of an ancient tree, fissures appearing around where it had struck.

Fox's head whipped around to try and pinpoint the origin of the projectile, and he was rewarded immediately. A huge plume of smoke was drifting upwards, pouring out of the barrel of an old sniper rifle. The person holding it was dressed in all black, and was frantically reloading to try and get another shot off. Fox wouldn't give them the chance. He unhooked the blaster from his belt, rolling to his knees. His hands were steady as he took aim...

Bang!

His pistol let off a powerful shot, and he was satisfied to see that it connected with his target. The sniper fell from their perch, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud. Fox stood up and dusted himself off, looking down at the vixen who was beginning to rise too.

"Thanks," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know how you heard that, but you just... saved..." he trailed off, eyes widening once more. The tree that was struck by the bullet had begun to crack at its base. Slowly, it was tilting further and further, the snaps coming faster until the entire tree lurched as is was cleaved in two under its own unstable weight. It was coming down directly on top of them. This time, it was Fox's turn to tackle her out of the way of danger. In the moment before the tree crashed down, he dove towards her, knocking both of them out of harm's way. Wood splinters flew everywhere as the tree collided hard with the ground. Wind whipped at their fur as the trunk came to a rest next to them. After a moment, she looked up at him, thankful. He blushed, getting up and off of her.

"Thanks," she said, smiling just a little. "Although, I suppose I can guess how you heard that one coming." He chuckled as she turned his line around on him, and her expression lightened by the smallest margin. She quickly grew somber again though as she looked at the tree. Fox followed her gaze and saw what was wrong. During the altercation, somehow her staff had come unhooked from her back. Now, it was in a dozen pieces beneath the tree, smashed to bits by its enormous weight.

She looked down, a pained expression on her face as the magnitude of what was about to happen occurred to her. Seeing her staff destroyed was the trigger that made the reality of her situation sink in. Fox looked away as well, ears pinned back as he understood what was going through her mind. After a moment, she took a breath and looked around, trying to memorize the home she'd never see again. Then, she turned around, eyes closed, and began walking up the ramp of the airlock. Fox took one last look around too, and soon he joined her. Once they were safely inside, he clicked the ramp up. The floor lurched as Slippy immediately brought the ship back to life and raced out of the atmosphere. All they could do was watch out the window as they witnessed Cerinia's final moments.

As they rose higher and higher above the ground, the destruction became clearer. Global firestorms ravaged the atmosphere, slowly spreading south. Towards her home. Eventually, they engulfed the area they had been standing in only a minute prior. Fox heard her fists clench. Looking over, her face was filled with anger and disappointment, sadness and despair. She shut her eyes tight, brow furrowed as a tear squeezed out. Fox knew what was coming next, and he braced himself, pulling his shoulders in slightly.

She lashed out, slamming her fist against the window. It trembled slightly, but it was designed to take hits from high-velocity space debris. She cried out, tears flowing freely now as she slammed her form against the airlock door. A quiet voice in her mind told her there was nothing else she could've done, but that voice was drowned out by the cacophony of pain she was experiencing.

"Why?!" She yelled through clenched teeth. "Dammit!" She collapsed, her body convulsing with sobs and rage. Fox knelt down beside her, ears still back. She pounded the floor, looking for justice in the cold metal but finding none. After a minute, her fits slowed, her body sinking in despair. She looked... defeated. Empty. Tears stained her face, but her expression was blank. Fox knew that look. He'd seen it in the mirror every day seven years ago. He knew nothing he could say could make it right. He pulled her head into his lap and embraced her. She didn't react. No one deserved to feel this kind of pain. He hadn't before, and she didn't now.

He silently cursed the universe that allowed this to happen not only to him, but to others as well.

He could feel her form loosen in his arms, void encompassing her. She drifted towards unconsciousness as the adrenaline faded and her mind began to reject the world it had been thrust into. He wouldn't deny her the reprieve. Before she could escape though, she murmured one thing. She looked at him, her eyes glassy, but still beautiful.

"Thank you."

She meant it. It was a genuine feeling of gratitude she was able to produce, despite everything. Fox felt like he didn't deserve it. He managed a small, sad smile in response though. She laid her head down on him again, the alertness leaving her body as her consciousness fled. Her breathing grew soft and regular as she fell asleep. The two sat there like that for a while, Fox watching the embers grow cold on Cerinia.


	2. Act I: Chapter 2 Raid

Chapter 2 | Raid

Fox's ear fluttered a little, listening intently for the blue fox on the other side of the door. He stood stock still outside her room, in a long, brightly lit hallway aboard the Great Fox. A cold bead of sweat formed on his temple, but he quickly wiped it away. Normally calming and tranquil, the low beat of the engines now put him on edge, providing a background noise to his indecision. He'd made a small tray of food for her and hoped she wouldn't mind what he picked out, but really, he had no idea what she liked to eat. The tray was being supported by his right hand, so he lifted his left to knock. He stopped midway though, hesitant. Biting his lip, Fox tried to work up the courage to inch his hand forward and close the gap. Half of his mind told him to knock, to be with her, while the other half told him to run for it and flee the hallway before he inevitably made things worse. Eventually he shook his head, and forced himself to proceed. Taking a deep breath, he let the air fill his lungs, holding it there for a moment before expelling it. He rapped lightly at the door, hearing the soft crinkle of sheets as she shifted in bed. Fox adjusted his feet in anticipation, knowing she had heard him. No turning back now.

"Come in," she said, barely audible.

Tension pulsed through his shoulders, her whisper hitting him like a shockwave. Fox slid the door open in response to her invitation, peeking his head around the corner before entering entirely. She was sitting on top of her bed on her knees, looking out the window. Some of his old workout clothes from the academy adorned her lovely figure, and even though they were a little too large for her, they still somehow captured her every curve. She had come with nothing besides what was on her back, so he'd lent her some supplies for the trip back to Corneria, including a few changes of hand-me-down shirts and pants.

Hearing him enter, she turned around in the bed, their eyes locking for just a moment. Fox's heart fell when he saw her expression. She tried to put on a tiny smile for him, but it was just a thin facade covering her overwhelming sadness. Her eyes were tired, and she looked like she hadn't slept well in days. Shoulders slumped, he noticed her ears drooping at the corners. Her tail fell off the side of the bed, limp. She looked... gone.

Despite this, Fox managed a smile for her before looking down at the food he was carrying.

"I brought you some food..." he started, gesturing lightly towards the tray. There was a fair amount on it: a bowl of cereal in cold milk, a stack of fresh strawberries that he had diced into small pieces, and a glass of orange juice. "I'll just leave it here for you, if you want it," he finished quietly, head down.

She smiled again, but it still looked forced. "Thank you," she said, voice strained. Fox had to stifle a small gasp at her beautiful voice, even now.

They both looked at each other. They both looked for words, but couldn't find any. And eventually, they both looked away. Fox placed the tray down quickly, staring anywhere else in the room. He rose after that and left, closing the door behind him. A faint click echoed through the room when it shut. She wasn't hungry, and made no move to touch the food sitting next to her bed. Eventually she turned and stared out the window again, her empty expression returning.

 _Two Weeks Later..._

"Rrggh! Dammit Slip, next time one of your bots goes berserk, maybe we should just try to appease it by throwing you in with it!" Falco grimaced. Him, Slippy and Fox were in an empty room aboard the Great Fox that was lined with metal from floor to ceiling. Normally it was used for storing cargo on long trips, but earlier that day Slippy had decided to test one of his prototype combat droids in there. This proved to be a mistake. A few short minutes after Slippy had booted up the AI, Fox received a ping from the communicator on his wrist. Looking down at it, Fox saw the the terrified frog's face as he struggled to contain the killer robot on the other side of the door.

The trio managed to subdue the bot eventually, but not before it attempted to escape its confinement by drilling a massive hole in the wall. The entire section of plating it had tried to bore through now needed to be replaced. Fox and Falco were pushing all their weight against a replacement metal panel as Slippy welded it in place.

"I said I was sorry! I'll double check the code next time!" the frog cried apologetically, muffled by his thick welding mask.

Beginning to pant under the effort of holding back the massive slab of steel, Fox glanced down at the frog. "For once in my life, I might be with Falco," Fox said, back pushed firmly against the new wall. "It'd have been easier than figuring out how to set an EMP off in here without taking down the entire ship." Slippy let out a small whimper at this, but didn't look up from his work.

It had been a long day for the vulpine. He'd been locked in meetings around the clock, subjected to a long list of questions about the Cerinian mission. And the people interviewing him were nothing if not thorough. At first, he'd hoped that Cornerian command could tell him what had happened back on the planet, but it quickly became apparent that they knew even less than he did. So far, they'd deduced that some sort of reaction had been triggered that managed to ignite the atmosphere. The combustion had rapidly gotten out of hand, and eventually consumed the entire planet. Cerinia was nothing more than a glowing husk, its surface scoured of life thanks to Andross' device.

The fur on the back of Fox's neck bristled at that name. That ape would pay for what he'd done to his mom and father. To the blue vixen. If he hadn't meant it before when he said he'd end Andross' life... He did now.

The rage was as fast as ever to race to his heart, but it was softened slightly by thinking about the other fox on board. Command's questions had covered everything, including her. He'd been as accurate as possible, and tried to provide as many details about the vixen as he could.

Well... that wasn't quite true, he realized. In his reports, Fox had been careful to leave out any details about her... abilities. Until he figured out exactly what had happened between him and the vixen down on Cerinia, he'd decided to keep quiet about it to command. He sighed, readjusting himself against the sturdy metal frame. A wave of guilt rolled over him as he thought about her, causing him to slump forward a little.

She barely spoke to anyone, and hardly ever left the room she'd been given for the trip. Every time he brought in a plate of food for her, she wouldn't touch it, even though she always looked at him and smiled just a little when he carried it in. Behind the smile though, he saw so much pain. He wanted so badly in those moments to rush to her side and embrace her, to try and ease the loneliness she felt, even if only by the smallest amount. After his father had died... He gulped, the memories still a raw, even after all this time. All he could remember was the total feeling of loneliness. Like no one else in the entire universe cared about his existence. It was unbearable sometimes, and all he could do was try to escape into unconsciousness, not leaving his bed for days at a time.

Fox couldn't stand the idea of anyone else going through that.

Even though he was painfully well acquainted with her current pain... Whenever he wanted to console her, he froze up, held in place by his hesitation. Part of him knew that, if he was in the vixen's place, he might just want to be left alone entirely. Another part of him worried about only making her condition worse, saying something wrong and pushing her further into her sadness. Whenever he did talk to her, it was only a few sentences exchanged. Her words were hollow, as if she wasn't fully present when she was speaking.

Somehow sensing that his mind had wandered to the other fox on board, Falco turned his head to look at Fox. "So," he started through gritted teeth, "any news about Blue yet?" A pained expression appeared on Fox's face, this time not caused by physical exertion. A few minutes after she had gone unconscious in the airlock with him, Falco had come down to see what was holding him up. Seeing the blue fox passed out in his arms, Falco had put a hand under his chin, thinking.

"You know," he'd said, "technically I'm still right about the voices in your head not being real."

Fox had looked up at him, troubled. "We'll see if you're still saying that in a few minutes." He'd started describing everything that had happened on Cerinia; the staff, the curious feeling, and even the memory sharing. As his story had ended, Falco ran his hands over his face and sighed, shaking his head.

"You got me, Foxy. I was wrong." Fox had taken little solace in his victory, looking down at the figure unconscious in his lap.

Fox was shaken out of his memory by the avian snapping his fingers in front his face. The panel immediately started to slide when he did this though, and the pair scrambled to keep it from toppling over directly on top them. Once the metal slab was secured again, Fox just shook his head. "No, nothing yet."

"Not even her name?" Falco asked, grunting as he shifted his shoulders up a little.

Fox's silence was enough of an answer. Their conversations never got that far. Despite everything though, he held out hope for the vixen. When he'd been back on Cerinia with her... He'd seen it in her eyes. That strength and resolve. That vivacity. If she could just find that again, Fox knew she'd be ok.

The low hiss of Slippy's blowtorch came to a sudden stop. He clicked it back on, but after a few seconds the flames sputtered out again. He tried to light the torch a few more times, but on each occasion he encountered a brief fit of pitiful flickering followed by quiet.

"Uhh..." Slippy murmured nervously.

Falco groaned. Fox sighed.

"I think it's out of juice," the frog said, getting off his knees. "I need to run down a few decks to grab a new canister." Looking up, he was only met by Falco's death stare. He gulped, reaching for humor to defuse the situation. "Uhh, I'll be back in a jiffy! You, uh, you probably shouldn't move anywhere!"

Falco's eyes narrowed.

Realizing how close he was to meeting oblivion at the hands of the avian, Slippy quickly collected his tools in a series of clatters and clangs, and promptly scampered from the room.

The remaining two were both quiet as they struggled against the metal plate, each altering their stance every once in a while to get better leverage against its unyielding surface. Their boots clicked on the ground as they shuffled their feet. Falco surely wanted to poke fun at him over the vixen he was clearly head over heels for, but the weight of the wall had leeched the sarcasm out of both of them. He supposed he should be grateful for this, but for some reason, brow sweating as his muscles strained, he had a hard time finding the thankfulness. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until a small noise broke the veil of silence.

 _Ping!_

Fox's communicator went off. He glanced down at it quickly, trying not to let up on the panel too much. When he saw it, he inhaled sharply, and Falco peered over, curious. Fox's face lit up, and he immediately let go of the wall. The avian squawked in surprise as his load was suddenly doubled. His eyes were wide as he barely managed to keep the plate upright.

"Where do you think you're going, Orange?!" the bird gasped, straining.

"Something important just came up!" Fox yelled over his shoulder, already almost out of the room. "Thanks for understanding, you're a great friend!" he called out, ducking through the doorway.

"Like hell I am! Get your ass back here Fox! Agh, dammit!" Falco shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth in effort, feeling the plate slip an inch.

/

Krystal had always loved the stars as a kit. The idea that each one had its own planets, its own people and its own stories... It captivated her. All her life, she dreamed of picking one at random, learning every story it had to tell, then moving on to the next one across the entire galaxy. She blinked, expression hollow. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

Every time she closed her eyes, she was haunted by the image of her parents, turning their backs on her. That look of disappointment their final message to her. She wanted to cry as she laid in her bed, but nothing came.

The past two weeks aboard the Great Fox, she hadn't been able to get their faces out of her mind. She replayed the scene over and over again, wondering if maybe she had done something differently, they might still be here. Somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, a voice whispered that there was nothing else she could have done. She had tried to protect them, but they'd rejected it. She wanted so desperately to believe that reasoning, but whenever she dwelled on it, she was met overwhelmed by a flood of guilt and horror that made her feel sick. She couldn't forgive herself. She couldn't ever forgive herself.

Worst of all, Krystal knew if she was in her parents' position, she'd have turned away too.

She never would've believed somebody claiming to see the future, especially not such a grim version of it. Not after last time, at least. At this, yet more terrible memories broke through into her mind. An old betrayal, a new abandonment, all of it swirling together into the perfect storm of agony.

The weeks subjected to this constant internal cacophony had eaten away at her, physically and mentally. She never felt totally conscious or aware of the world around her; but at the same time, she was never truly asleep. She floated in the middle of the two, stuck in limbo.

Krystal lifted her head slightly, looking at the room the orange fox had set her in after she lost consciousness in the airlock. It was simply decorated. There was a white plastic table supporting a complicated-looking computer rig in one corner. The screen glowed blue faintly, asking her for a username and password that she couldn't provide. A small, circular window showed her the sea of stars she'd once loved so much. Unlike the rest of the ship with its tough metal plating, the walls here were painted a warm brown, and a yellow light trickled down from a lamp in the corner. The floor was fit with sterile white tiles that felt cool to her paws when she managed to get out of bed. Considering this was a warship run by three men, the room actually smelled quite nice, with the scent of cinnamon circulating in the air.

The last piece of furniture in the room was a small wooden table next to her bed. Every morning, the vulpine would prepare some food for her and set it there. Whenever he knocked and asked to come in, she always tried to hide the pain for a few seconds and put on a weak smile. She knew she failed each time. Over and over again, the orange fox had come in and seen her defeated expression, making his ears fall back and tail droop. Still though, he'd smile warmly at her, and walk over to the table to place the food next to her. Krystal tried to find something to say to him in those moments, to express her gratitude, but every time she searched for the words, she came up empty handed. She could tell something similar happened to him as well. Because of this, she still didn't even know his name. He probably didn't know hers either.

Most days, she wouldn't touch the food he brought in, lacking the motivation to even eat. When she did, she'd only pick at a little of it, leaving most of it untouched. Krystal could feel the vulpine's dismay every time he saw her plate still full, but he never said anything. Instead, he'd just maintain that same hopeful smile, and return again later with another plate that he hoped she'd enjoy more. Cereal, fruit, vegetables; he'd tried everything.

She looked over at the table now. The fox had left her some food again this morning, but she hadn't looked at it yet. The sheets on the bed rustled as she shifted, and they brushed lightly against her silky fur. Squinting, Krystal saw that he had left her something to drink, and a single object on a small plate. She stared at it uncomprehendingly for a few seconds, before her eyes widened in surprise. What she saw shocked her out of her trance for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

He'd set a tall glass of milk on the table that was still chilled, thankfully. However, what absorbed the vixen was sitting next to the cup, on the simple white plate he'd carried in. Slowly, she sat up, eyes never leaving the astonishing object. A lone, blueberry muffin. Her arm extended slowly, afraid if she moved too quickly, it might vanish from existence. After a moment, her fingers wrapped delicately around its surface, and she turned it over in her hands.

 _How..._

Her mouth was open in shock, her breath caught in her throat. A flood of memories rushed into her mind, the images burning bright as they surfaced.

Her and her father were bent down over a short bush, laughing as they picked a handful of fresh blueberries from its surface. She threw one at him playfully, and he responded in kind. Their exchange escalated into all-out war, and soon they were ducking behind cover, pelting each other with the small projectiles. Eventually, they called a truce, and managed to collect a basketful of the fruit without giggling and dropping it or lobbing it at the other. They lugged the basket back to her house, where her mother joined in making a tray of steaming muffins out of the fruit. They played games while waiting for the pastries to rise, Krystal pretending to be indignant as her parents teamed up on her. When the food had finished cooking, they took them and shared them with everyone in the town, making a day of it. So many happy smiles, laughing faces. She remembered those muffins being the best food she'd ever tasted.

Since that day, they'd always been her favorite.

She snapped back to the real world, the food still clutched in her paw. Krystal's eyes were forced shut as she gasped, short of breath. The memory slammed against her like a brick wall. Tears finally found their way to her; both of despair and of joy. She clung to the happy memory of her family and laughed as she remembered everything, while mourning the memories she would never get to make. After so long of only seeing anger and disappointment in her mind, she clutched at this happy oasis as tightly as she could. Sobs wracked her body, missing her parents and her town so dearly, but finally able to recall them happily. At last, a break in the storm clouds that had been suffocating her mind. After a few minutes, the tears grew less frequent and eventually settled into heavy pools of liquid hanging in her eyes. She had a genuine smile on her face as she looked down at the muffin that the vulpine had brought, not possibly understanding its significance to her. Suddenly, she felt famished, becoming very aware that she hadn't eaten in nearly a week.

She unwrapped the pastry quickly, tearing off a small hunk of its top and placing it in her mouth. Her body relaxed at its taste, sighing, letting the flavors wash over her mouth. It was moist and sweet, and its soft texture crumbled over her tongue. The top was coated in sugar, blue flecks speckling the surface. It was delicious. Not quite like the ones back home, but somehow still equally as good. Ripping off another piece and another piece, Krystal devoured all of it as quickly as she could. She sat back after finishing it off, playing the memory over and over again in her head, seeking refuge in her first happy thought in forever. The grief she felt for her mom, her dad, her friends... She realized she couldn't ever heal, not entirely. The pain was still constant in the back of her mind, threatening to consume her at the drop of a hat. But at least now she had memories other than abandonment and terror.

The orange fox had no idea how much he'd helped her. Krystal sat up, suddenly feeling terrible that, even after all this time, she hadn't introduced herself or spoken to him at all. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a small grey object sitting on the desk, with a small card next to it. She went over to investigate, and was immediately happy that she did.

Krystal recognized the object as a communicator identical to the one the vulpine had been wearing earlier. She picked it up, fiddling with it as she attached it to her wrist. Securing it in place, she read the note on the card.

 _Feel free to ping me if you need anything!_

 _-Fox_

She smiled. So, that was his name. Fox. She turned it over in her head a few times as she tapped on the screen, trying to figure out how it worked. Eventually, she found her way over to a picture of the orange fox, and pressed it once. It let out a small sound, confirming that she had contacted him. Hopefully she wasn't interrupting anything terribly important.

/

Fox jogged briskly through the halls of the Great Fox, only self-restraint holding him back from breaking into a full sprint. He tried to keep his hopes down, but failed miserably. The blue vixen had pinged him! He tried to tell himself that she probably just needed extra towels, or wanted fresh sheets. When he got there, he should be prepared for her voided gaze and defeated posture. A small voice in the back of his head provided fuel to his hopes though.

 _What if she's getting back on her feet?_

He couldn't help but smile at the thought, gaining a little skip in his step. If she'd found a spark of hope... Maybe it could be kindled into healing. Maybe he could convince her that she wasn't alone, that people still cared about her. After being in her head and seeing her instinctively rush to protect her family, Fox knew he cared.

He nodded, determined to help in any way he could. He'd meant it when he said it earlier - he couldn't stand the idea of anyone hurting like he had when his parents had died.

Fox took a left after descending a flight of stairs, bringing him into the pilot's quarters. He strolled down the long hallway, the fur of his tail rustling in his wake. The bright white lights set in the ceiling cast a long shadow behind him. Their luminance reflected dully off his flight suit, and Fox raised one arm to observe the green shine of his shirt. Each door set into the hall tapered up to an arched point, and slid open quietly with the press of a small button set into the handle. He passed by a handful of panels set with blinking buttons and knobs. He knew what most of them did but didn't dare mess with them. That was Slippy's job. Heavy pieces of machinery were chugging along behind sheets of glass fixed in the wall. They emitted a constant low thrum, filling his ears with their vibrations.

As Fox passed by Falco's room, he couldn't help but chuckle a little. He'd say he felt bad about leaving Falco alone back there, but he really didn't. Besides, he could think of at least ten separate incidents offhand that this could be considered payback for. The bird could handle the load on his own for a few minutes.

Valves and wires hummed in the walls next to him, pumping the Great Fox along towards its final destination: Corneria. After spending her entire life on Cerinia... If her memories were any indication, the new planet might be a huge shock to the vixen. While he was watching her memories, all the buildings Fox saw were single story and made entirely of wood and brick. Fox's hands clenched. The last time Fox had seen a single story building on Corneria was when they accidentally missed the first floor of a skyscraper as they were tearing it down. The entire planet was covered in monumental towers, their metallic edifices pushing high above the cloud line. All he could hope for was that she'd be mesmerized by the urban goliath they were heading for, not overwhelmed by it.

Lost in thought, Fox continued to walk down the hall at a swift pace. Before he knew it, he was standing outside the blue fox's door, snapped back to reality by the anxiousness that began collecting in his stomach. His hand felt for his pocket, checking to see if he still had the objects he'd picked up for her. Pushing on the soft fabric of his pants, he felt the two small lumps stored there. His tail wagged a little, happy that he'd remembered to bring them along. Looking up, he was confronted with the vixen's door. He gulped. He'd run out of things to procrastinate knocking. Taking a shallow breath, he tapped on the door with his fist a few times. He pulled back after that, steeling himself for the tell-tale rustle of sheets and broken voice of the blue vixen.

After a few moments, he frowned. She hadn't shifted in bed, or said anything from behind the door. Maybe she hadn't heard him knock. He raised his hand up to knock again, but jolted when the door began sliding open on its own before he could reach it. With a silent whir, it moved aside to reveal the simple room - and the blue fox who occupied it. She'd opened the door herself. They stood eye-to-eye on either side of the room's threshold, each staring right at the other. Fox couldn't help but try to size up her current mood and see if she was feeling any better. After a moment, his spirits rose. She still looked pale and distressed, but there was a new presence in her body language. She stood up a little taller, her tail swaying gently behind her. There was a small spark of joy in her eyes. Despite everything, she looked hopeful.

When she recognized Fox at the door, a small smile appeared on her lips, and her nose twitched in anticipation. Fox breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that she was doing a little better than before. Realizing that she was glad to see him, his face went a little red. He blinked a few times. That wasn't a thought he wanted to deal with right now. Looking back at her, she was definitely pleased at his presence, but her head was pointed down a little and her hands were clasped together. She seemed embarrassed. Fox tilted his head to the side, curious about her bashful expression. He decided not to say anything though.

Eventually, Krystal broke the silence. "Please, come in," she said, stepping aside to let Fox through. He could see the low glow of the lamp by her bed, casting heavy shadows across the room. She looked expectant as she held the door open, hoping that he would accept her invitation. Fox swallowed, trying to clear the nervous lump in his throat. It would be easy, he realized, to say no. Just have a fast conversation in the hall, and turn tail before he could do anything wrong. Even as he had the thought, a small part of his mind wanted desperately to cling to it and put it in motion. She was feeling a little better; that much was clear from her expression. He didn't want to risk crushing that, like some clumsy giant might demolish a fragile building. If he accidentally became the reason she stopped healing, he couldn't live with himself. She deserved a second chance far more than he ever had.

Despite all that... He felt himself walking into the room, walking past her and standing next to her bed. This was what she wanted.

 _So... Just run with it, Fox._

He heard her shut the door behind her, sealing the two of them off from the rest of the universe. He couldn't tell whether the idea frightened him or excited him. Maybe both. The blue fox rounded the corner, joining Fox next to her bed. They stared at each other for a long moment, both unsure what to say to the other. Brimming with nervous energy, Fox tapped and intertwined his fingers, trying to keep his hands and mind from detonating with anxiety. He tried to think of anything to say, even just a simple greeting, but language had entirely escaped him for the moment. His memory couldn't help but drift to the countless number of times he'd stood here, looking for words. Gratitude flowed from his mind when she came to his rescue.

"Hi," she said, looking up at him. The one word conveyed so much information. She seemed surprised to hear herself speak, almost as if she hadn't expected the sound to come from her mouth. Behind that though, she sounded eager and determined, resolve hinting in her voice. Suddenly, Fox's words returned to him. There was so much he wanted to say and to ask, but he only managed one word in response.

"Hi," he said, tentative.

She smiled, shifting her feet. She looked relieved that he'd responded at all, so he kept going. "I, uh... I saw you ping me a few minutes ago," he managed to get out, trying to build some momentum in his speaking. "Is everything alright? Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head, toying with on the communicator fastened to her wrist. "No, everything's fine," she said, a small smile forming due to the orange fox's concern. "I just... I just realized we haven't been properly introduced yet, and that seemed awfully silly." She rocked back on her heels, hands clasped behind her back. "My name is Krystal."

 _Krystal..._

He finally knew her name. Fox heard it over and over again in his head, relishing in its sound. Vaguely, he wondered if there was any part of her that he didn't find spectacular. An expectant look on her face reminded him to return the favor and introduce himself.

"...Oh! I - I'm Fox McCloud. It's nice to meet you, Krystal," he replied, drawing her name out ever so slightly as it rolled off his tongue, loving how it felt in his mouth.

She nodded in agreement, and reached a hand into her pocket. She fished around for a moment before pulling out a tiny piece of paper. Looking at it, Fox recognized it as the card he'd left on her desk earlier, telling her to ping him if she needed anything.

"Thank you for leaving all this for me," she began, gesturing to her wrist and the note, "I know it must sound ridiculous for me to call you just for introductions, but I don't think I could've waited for you to come by tonight." She looked down and shuffled her feet, starting to feel embarrassed that she'd dragged Fox all this way just for a name. In truth, Fox would've put basically anything on hold for this, so he leapt to make sure she didn't feel bad for pinging him.

"Don't worry, you didn't interrupt anything important," he said with a crooked grin, briefly remembering his avian friend. "Really, I'm just happy to talk to you."

Contentment appeared on her face, glad she wasn't disturbing anything vital, and satisfied that she'd finally been introduced to the person who had saved her life. She still had a few questions though, and now was as good a time as any for them.

"So, I never did ask, but... Where exactly are we going?" she asked, curious.

Fox was a little surprised by the question. Where else could they be going except Corneria? After a second though, he realized that she'd probably never left her planet before, let alone visited the Lylat system.

"Oh," he said, shaking off the bewilderment, "The ship's heading back to the Lylat system. We're based in the capital, Corneria." He tapped on his communicator a few times, bringing up a map. He pointed out the blue and grey planet to her.

She nodded, making a small sound of comprehension. "I've heard of Corneria before. Actually, I think I've see that map before too." Her ears dipped back guiltily. "Though, I don't really know much about any of it."

Fox waved off her concern, understanding. "That's fine," Fox replied. "The trip back takes about three weeks, so we have a few more days in here before we arrive. Once we're there," he started, a grin teasing on his lips, "I've convinced some friends to help you out until you can get on your feet. If you want to, you can take the help," he explained, hopeful that she'd find the offer useful.

She smiled. Yet again, this vulpine had gone out of his way to try and help her. She looked up into his eyes, seeing a hopefulness that she'd appreciate his effort, and she did. "Thank you, Fox," she said. His ears went red at hearing her say his name, but she didn't seem to notice. "That sounds brilliant."

He sighed, relieved. "Well, you still have some time to make up your mind, so there's no rush." Fox opened his mouth to continue, but he was interrupted by a small sound on his wrist. Looking down, he saw Falco was pinging him. He snickered a little, shaking his head. Krystal frowned a bit, wondering why he was laughing.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, watching him smile.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he responded, "but I probably ought to get going here."

"Oh, alright. I don't want to keep you from anything," she said.

He gave her a small smile. "I can come by again later tonight with some dinner, if you'd like. ...I'm glad we got to talk, Krystal," he stated, indulging in her name one last time.

She nodded. "I'd like that." She returned his happy expression. "I'll see you tonight," she finished.

Fox made a motion towards he door, but as he passed by her, he noticed a small look of disappointment cross her face. Fox's ear twitched, feeling concerned. He couldn't leave now, not if something was wrong. If she was starting to feel more like herself, he owed it to her to help as much as he possibly could. Before he could walk any further, he turned around, his gaze connecting with hers. She looked surprised at his sudden turn, but didn't move in response. He grimaced, realizing he was about to ask something that would either destroy or solidify her positivity.

"K - Krystal," he stammered, his tongue suddenly tied. "Before I head out, I... I need to know." He gulped, trying to phrase his next question as carefully as possible. "How... How are you holding up?" Fox asked gently, care clear in his voice. After Cerinia, after seeing her empty for two weeks, after seeing her happy in their conversation, he had to make sure he wasn't imaging her improvement. The muscles in his shoulders tightened when pain washed over her expression. Her eyes shut tight, her brow scrunched, and her lips pressed together. Fox's stomach sank at her reaction to the question, and his tail hit the floor, motionless. Fear gripped his body, realizing he may have just crushed the small happiness she had found. For a long moment, her body stayed in that pained position, all her muscles rigid as she was engulfed by memories of the past weeks. Fox felt a storm of guilt accumulate on his heart. But... his eyes lit up. The storm was dispelled and replaced with hope as she relaxed with a deep breath. Their lines of sight intertwined again.

Fox felt like he could witness and understand every detail of her psyche in those bottomless turquoise eyes. He saw an ocean of sadness, of an overwhelming pain that laced itself into her every thought. It killed him to see so much hurt in her. When she opened her eyes again though, he saw something that made him breathe out in relief. Amidst all the negativity swarming her mind, he saw that small spark of life that had filled her back on Cerinia.

She'd found it.

He wanted to jump for joy at her newfound source of solace, but he restrained himself to only giving her a goofy smile. She giggled a little at seeing it, only making his grin grow. Finally responding to his question with words, she murmured a few words to him.

"It hurts. It hurts so much, Fox. But... Today is better," she said confidently. Then, barely audible, she whispered, "Thank you."

He nodded once, making a small sound in his throat. "You can't imagine how glad I am to hear that." He smiled, giving her an earnest look of happiness and compassion. He had no idea what had changed to make her feel better, but really, he was just ecstatic that it had happened at all. Maybe he had helped. His thoughts were interrupted again, however, by a small sound at his wrist. Falco. He rolled his eyes and smirked, figuring the bird had probably had enough at this point. He looked back up at the vixen, but she already wore a look of acceptance on her face.

"Don't worry, I won't distract you any more than I already have," she said, walking towards the door.

He chuckled, knowing he'd stay here all day if she wanted him to. Falco could figure something out. Still though, he paced towards the door behind her. They exchanged one last smile as Fox passed her, stepping over the threshold into the long hall. He was about to start walking away when he remembered one last thing, though.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black and blue object. He turned around and called out. "Krystal, wait, I forgot something!" Her head poked out the door at his voice, quizzical.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping into the hall with him. He held the small rod out in front of him, and clicked a circular button on its side. At his touch, it expanded out into a full sized staff, it's smooth black surface capped with two small blue inlays on either end. He offered it to her, and she picked it up gingerly in one hand.

"I was in the armory earlier when I saw this. It's a staff, and you can change around the weightings at either end," he said, showing how to modify the blue pieces at either end to make them heavier or lighter. "I figured you might want it. Slippy made me pick it up a few years ago, insisting he'd learn all about staff fighting. I think he tried it once before letting it collect dust in our cache, so... It's all yours."

She gave it a few spins before brandishing it in both hands. Even if it wasn't her staff, the weight felt comfortable and familiar in her grasp. She looked up at the vulpine, grateful. Here he was, helping her left and right, and all she had given him in return was her name. She felt a pang of guilt, but was appreciative nonetheless. "Thank you," she said, though a funny look appeared on her face. "Hopefully you're not expecting us to need this, right?" she asked, splitting the difference between a humorous and serious tone.

Fox's mouth turned up at the corners, shaking his head. "Ideally? No. But it's not like any of us can use it, so you might as well have it," he said jocularly. She smiled, compressing it again and slipping it into her pocket. Another ping came from Fox's wrist, this time much louder and longer. He looked down at it, sighing. He peeked up at Krystal, who gave him a wave to answer Falco's call. Tapping the screen, Fox was presented with the fuming face of bird, eyes bulging in his endeavor to keep the wall upright. Fox could practically see the steam pouring from his nostrils. Fox closed one eye and braced, pulling his shoulders in.

"Fox." Falco spat the first word out, poison dripping from his expression. "Where the ever-loving _hell_ are you?" he finished through clenched teeth, eyes trying their best to bore holes through the communicator and into his face. Fox opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, Krystal laughed in the background, comprehending their situation. Upon hearing the sound, Falco went silent for a second, processing it. Then it clicked. He realized that Fox had just been talking to Krystal for the past ten minutes. Fox hadn't known it was possible for so much rage to exist on one person's face.

"Oh, _come o-!_ " The bird began to exclaim, but Fox quickly cut the feed before he could dive into a string of expletives. Fox looked up timidly from the screen, seeing Krystal still smiling and trying not to chuckle. He let out a weak laugh in response, rubbing the back of his neck.

"...I should go," he said, looking back down at his wrist. She just nodded, fiddling with the staff in her pocket. "I'll see you later, Krystal," he said, spinning and starting to walk down the hall.

"See you tonight, Fox."

At this, Fox turned his head, and started jogging down the hall, away from her room. She pulled the compressed staff out again, looking it over and playing with it as she padded into her room. Relief grabbed hold of her body, her stress seeping out as she collapsed on the bed. It relaxed her tense form, closed her eyes, and forced her mind to slow. She let out a long exhale, and replayed the conversation she'd just had in her mind. She was glad she'd called him. Fox was incredibly considerate, she realized. Her mind kept returning to his solaced expression when she'd recalled the muffin. He really did care about her, she thought with a smile. To think, all of this happened because he brought her in a blueberry muffin. She turned onto her side, getting a better look at the plate that had held the pastry earlier.

She expected it to be empty, save the wrapper and maybe a few crumbs she had missed in her haste. Instead though, she saw another perfect muffin sitting on the plate. She opened her mouth in shock, not understanding how a second one could have appeared. Then it hit her - Fox must have slipped a second one onto her plate during their conversation. A smile bloomed on her lips, and she lifted it up. She shook her head lightly before unwrapping it and eating it, savoring its flavor this time.

/

Fox stared down at his mug with disappointment, a tiny pout on his face. The brown dregs at the bottom of the cup were the only evidence that it had once been brimming with hot, energetic coffee. He shut his eyes tight, vaguely hoping that when he opened them again, there might be some more of the liquid life in its confines. He peeped one eye back open, looking down in hopeful expectation.

Empty.

He sighed, setting the unsatisfactory mug down on the desk in front of him. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling while rubbing his temples in a slow circular motion. It was relaxing, and the pressure helped hold back a migraine that was threatening in the corners of his head. His eyes traced out the faint lines and cracks in the tile above him, searching for patterns, but finding none in his tired stupor.

It was night cycle on the ship, and while everyone else was asleep, he manned the bridge, keeping the ship on course and watching the camera feeds. The three pilots each took turns running the night shift, and he'd drawn the short straw on this particular evening. If he was being honest with himself, he was sure he was the only one who actually did the job. Whenever it was Falco's turn, he insisted absolutely nobody enter the bridge, as he needed to give the upmost attention and dedication to protecting the ship. Fox had no doubts that was code for beauty sleep. Slippy on the other hand... He loved the frog, but he was even more distractible than Falco.

Which, unfortunately, left him. He glanced down at his communicator, tapping it once to bring it to life. A little after four in the morning. He groaned, upper body falling forward, exhausted. He closed his eyes, letting sleep tease at the edges of his consciousness. Feeling its wonderful tendrils snake into his mind, his thoughts began to slow. Relaxation crept into his muscles. A few seconds of this couldn't hurt, right? He knew how easily a few seconds could turn into a few hours, though. He scrunched his face up, blinking back the thought of unconsciousness. He flipped through his communicator in a desperate effort to stay alert. Eventually, he found himself hovering over Peppy's picture. Doing the conversions quickly in his head, he realized it'd be the middle of the afternoon back on Corneria. He considered calling the hare, but shook his head, knowing he needed to focus on the task at hand. In the back of his head though, he made a mental note to talk to him later. So much had happened over the past few weeks, and he still needed to sort through it all. Peppy was generally good for that.

He tapped his communicator one last time, extinguishing the light from its screen. Yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked back up at the screens in front of him, attempting to stay on task. There was a small asteroid on a collision course with them, but the ship was already adjusting its momentum to avoid ramming it head-on. The long-range scanners didn't pick up any other immediate threats. Turning in his chair slightly, he surveyed the army of cameras from around the ship. All the feeds looked alright, just showing an empty hall here, or a quiet stockroom there. Fox was about to return to battling sleep when a flick of movement caught his eye. He swiveled around in his chair to get a better look at the screen, curious.

His heart froze. He didn't blink.

He scrambled at the controls, frantically bringing camera ninety-two front and center. His eyes were wide, and a pulse of ice coursed through his veins while adrenaline kicked out any tiredness left in his mind. Staring at the image, his fears were confirmed. He felt sick.

He leapt from his chair, kicking it to the side as he sprinted for the bridge's exit. Before he could even hit the button to slide the door open, he was already pinging Falco and Slippy on his communicator. The intense white light of the hallway made his pupils dilate as he raced towards the other side of the ship.

"C'mon, c'mon...!" he muttered, urgently tapping his wrist. He hung a fast right, nearly colliding with the hard metal walls as he spun. He took off again, rushing towards the staircase at the end.

Slippy's face was the first to pop up, his expression holding a little concern behind his tiredness. Falco appeared soon after, with nothing but unbridled annoyance in his eyes. It would've been an amusing contrast if their lives weren't in peril.

"Fox, after your stunt this morning," the bird started, his gaze toxic, "this had better be good. Or I will end you."

"What's wrong, Fox?" Slippy yawned, faintly recognizing that something was amiss.

Fox had started ascending the stairs, charging up them three at a time. He looked both ways down the hallway quickly, anxiety making his fists ball up.

"Hostiles onboard."

The look of sleep vanished instantly from Falco's and Slippy's faces. The both jumped from bed, donning their flight suits and collecting their weapons.

Fox briefed them, still sprinting. "They're in section 3C, heading for the reactor. Falco, meet me at 4D, we'll ambush them there. Slippy, get to the control room. They don't just want to loot us, they want to take the ship out of commission." They both nodded, already out the door. "Stay on the line, but keep quiet. Don't give your positions away." Fox switched his communicator to hands-free mode, and a small green eyepiece lowered over his face while the speaker in his ear hummed to life. The eyepiece flashed once, and suddenly he was assaulted with information on its HUD. He ignored it though, focused instead on making it to Falco without being detected. His heart settled into a more regular pattern as the initial shock of seeing the pirates on camera passed and his military training kicked in. His expression was steely, his eyes were sharp for the slightest movement, and his ears searched for the smallest boot scuff.

Still hurtling down the catwalk, Fox flipped his communicator up again. He touched it a few times, keeping one eye peeled for anybody trying to catch him off guard. The device let off a soft ping, letting Fox know it was calling someone. After a few more seconds, Krystal's face appeared on his eyepiece. She still looked forlorn, he noted with an imperceptible frown, but a flash of happiness appeared in her expression when she saw him. Fox barely suppressed a blush. He wanted to admire that happy look all night, but he got down to business immediately. He had to make sure she was safe.

"Fox!" she said, a little worry in her voice that he was calling so late. "Is everything ok?" A look of distress written on her features.

He shook his head, her look of confusion growing. "Somebody boarded us. They're trying to take down the ship."

She gasped for half a second, her mouth agape a little as her hand rushed to cover it. Her tail flicked nervously against the background. After a short moment though, her eyes grew serious, a forcefulness settling into her form. She nodded. "How can I help?" she asked, rising from her bed.

Fox opened and closed his mouth, surprised. He hadn't expected her to offer her help at all, let alone so readily. Most people would have run to their closets to hide.

Yet more proof she wasn't "most people," Fox noted.

He bit his lip, however. If she got hurt because of him... That wouldn't be ok.

"It's alright, the three of us can handle them," he started, seeing a look of doubt spread across her face. "Just stay safe. They shouldn't come near your side of the ship." Her head hung down, trying to hide an expression of unease and disappointment. Eventually, she looked back up.

"If you're sure, Fox. But..." she trailed off, gulping. "Please, if you need help, call," she whispered intently with a pleading look.

Fox nodded his head, bringing a little relief to her austere expression. "I will."

She whirled her staff next to her, preparing for any raiders who might come her way. He reached a hand up, ending the call. It faded back into his previous communications with the rest of the team.

He had to make it down one flight of stairs and over a few rooms to meet up with Falco. He'd been able to pound down the metal flooring before, but as he neared the location of the invaders, he slowed to a silent crawl. One stray sound could spell the end for him. He unholstered his blaster, resting it in the strong grip of his hand. The barracks were closer to the rally point than the bridge was, so Falco was probably already waiting for him up ahead. As if in response to the vulpine's thought, he heard the avian's voice in the speaker in his ear.

"I'm in position," he breathed, voice not rising above a dull whisper. Fox didn't respond, but he got the message. He walked up to a junction in the hall, pressing his back against the corner and listening for movement. The wall behind him vibrated slightly, and Fox realized just how close they were to the main reactor on the ship. If the pirates had just wanted to loot his home, they'd be on the other side of the ship, heading towards their cargo bay and armory. Instead, they were looking to shut it down entirely, and claim the whole of the Great Fox as their prize.

It was eerily silent in the hall, only the brief, odd noise breaking the quiet. A life support unit hissed, venting recycled oxygen into the ship. Liquid ran through the walls, pipes banging while cooling the engines. He peeked the corner quickly, swinging his blaster out with him. Nothing. He slinked around the intersection and began descending the nearby staircase, pistol aimed at the next floor down the entire time. His eye rested gently behind the iron sights, his hands never wavering. His ears listened for anything, straining. Hitting the next flight of steps, the hum of the reactor became faintly audible. Pulling into the hallway, he made a quick dash for the room Falco was waiting in. Boxes littered the hall, but Fox wove around them without making a sound. He clicked the button on the door, and it slid open to reveal a dark storeroom. The entrance sealed behind him as he slipped inside.

On his eyepiece, he could see l that Falco was in here with him, and after a second, they noticed each other over a spool of wire. They nodded, silently acknowledging each other's presence. Fox put his fingers together and made a quick motion for the door behind them both.

 _Let's go_.

Falco nodded again, and pulled in step slightly behind and beside him. The fabric of his flight suit stretched as he reached around and pulled a small rifle from his back. He pressed it into his shoulder, keeping it level with the ground. He cocked his head to the side slightly and closed one eye, testing his sights. He looked back up at Fox afterwards, satisfied.

Fox reached out again, clicking the button set in the door and sliding it open without a sound. He peered around the corner both ways before giving Falco the all clear. They passed through the door at the same time, each swinging their weapon around to face a different direction down the hall. Fox's aim darted from spot to spot, scanning the hall for any signs of movement. After a long moment he pulled his pistol back. No sign of the raiders. Satisfied to see his half was clear, he turned towards Falco. He glanced down at the avian's hands, half expecting to see them re-adjust around the grip of his rifle nervously. His friend's fingers were steady though, his training from the academy clearly still with him. Fox suddenly felt grateful to have him here. He'd have to apologize for that wall stunt he pulled earlier.

On his display, Fox saw a small map pop up, with a rough set of diagrams drawn out on it. Slippy must have made it to the control room and updated their eyepieces with some information. Falco saw it too, his eyes flicking back and forth while he quickly committed everything to memory. After a moment, Fox motioned for the staircase in front of them. Down those stairs was a passage that led straight to the heart of the ship; the reactor. The pirates would be walking through it any moment now. Hopefully him and Falco could get the drop on them before they could do any harm to the ship.

Fox took the first step down the staircase, Falco remaining at the top to cover him as he descended. He could feel his nerves starting to act up as he came to the bottom of the stairs, but he shook it off. The hallway where they would set up their ambush was right in front of him. He listened for the quiet rattle of a gun or tap of a boot. His efforts still only uncovered a maddening silence, however. No new details appeared on his eyepiece, so Slippy must not have seen anything over the cameras either. The lack of information was nerve-wracking.

Fox waved for Falco to join him at the bottom of the staircase, and he guarded him as he inched down. Once they were both on solid ground, they took up positions on either side of the door leading out into the hallway, their backs against the wall. Fox made two quick hand signals, his index finger first pointing down at the ground before his entire palm rose up.

 _We go on my mark, but hold your fire until I give the signal._

Falco nodded in confirmation, raising his sights to make sure nobody stumbled across them from the steps they had just come down. Now, they waited.

In reality, it was only a few minutes, but to the vulpine, it felt like decades. His eyes were glued to the area outside the door, and his ears stiffened at every creak of the ship. He kept an eye on his map, vying for more information from Slippy, but it seemed the frog was just as blind as he was. Falco frowned in concentration, his serious expression not changing as he kept his aim locked on the steps. Despite the enormous amount of focus he was channeling right now, Fox's mind couldn't help but wander. An image of Krystal flashed into his head, and he swallowed nervously out of instinct. The sick feeling in his stomach threatened to re-emerge, but Fox bolted it down under an iron will. She would be fine. The pirates were nowhere near her position, and he'd asked her to stay safe.

He snapped back to reality when a single yellow dot appeared on his HUD. Falco noticed it too, budging his feet slightly but aim not wavering. The hostiles must have appeared on one of Slippy's cameras. Another dot followed soon after the first one. And another, and another. Soon, a cluster of fifteen blinking circles were marked out on his display. As he'd anticipated, they were all heading down the hallway, straight for the reactor. In his head, he knew he should be reeling at the idea of a fifteen to three fight, but he'd won with worse odds than this before.

As the invaders drew closer, Fox noticed that they were split into two main groups; one leading in the front, and one providing support from the back, with empty space separating them both. He smiled, a plan blooming in his mind. He swiped on his communicator several times, sending out a battle strategy to the other two. A small check mark appeared by the map, signaling Slippy was on board. Falco smirked in agreement, clearly enjoying the vulpine's improvised plan.

The dots moved closer and closer to their position. After a what felt like an eternity of silence, Fox's sensitive ears finally heard the hostiles. The rattle of a gun, the rustle of clothes. As they came even closer, Fox could hear a few of them whispering orders and commands to the others.

The footsteps were louder now, individual voices more apparent. Checking the map, they'd just passed into the hallway, and were walking straight for the hidden duo. Fox's grip readjusted around his pistol as he felt a bead of sweat form on the back of his head. They were about ten steps out now. Falco pressed tighter against the wall, trying to make himself less visible. Five steps. Two steps. One step.

The first pirate passed into view. He was wearing light body armor, painted solid black with an insignia of skulls and crossbones inked on the chestpiece. He had an oily red bandanna tied loosely around his head, and he carried a small pistol in his right hand. His belt was stuffed with ammo and grenades.

The invader's head was swiveling from side to side, undoubtedly trying to watch out for an ambush. The group was pushing towards the reactor as quickly as they could though, so he walked right by the staircase he and Falco were camped in. Fox let out an inward sigh of relief as he went out of sight, completely unaware. Seven more pirates snuck by afterwards, each bearing the same skull and crossbones as the first raider. They had an entire arsenal with them; rifles, blasters, shotguns, explosives... These guys were well outfitted.

There was a break in the hostiles as the front group went ahead, leaving the support group lagging behind. That was their opportunity. Fox's heart wanted to race, but he was calm, his mind clear with what came next. He lifted up three fingers for Falco, and he understood, grip closing around the trigger of his gun. It was showtime.

 _Three..._

 _Two..._

 _One..._

"Now!"

As soon as Fox yelled the command, an ear-shattering metallic clang resonated from right outside the staircase. The sheer force of the sound made the ground beneath their feet lurch. A red light blazed out in the hall, accompanied by a blaring siren. Slippy had forced an emergency lockdown, slamming down a huge slab of steel from the ceiling to trap the front group of pirates. He heard a few muffled yells from behind the door, no doubt the pirates already realizing they'd been confined. Fox smiled. That door would be the least of their concerns in a few seconds. At the same time, the much clearer voices of the second group raised from the back, alarmed. They pounded down the hallway towards their trapped allies.

In the same moment the steel door came crashing down, Fox tugged a small blue ball from his belt, flipping it over in his hands before clamping down on a button set in its top. It seemed innocent enough, but Fox knew better than to stare at it for too long. A second after pressing the button, he lobbed it into the hallway. "Look away!" he breathed to Falco. The pair shut their eyes tight and covered their ears. It bounced off the far wall and came to a rolling stop in the dead center of the long passage. The ball sat there harmlessly for a bit, seemingly inert. Then it detonated.

A fountain of blinding light erupted from the sphere when it ignited, its piercing sound ripping through the hallway. The second group of pirates cried out and covered their eyes, but it was too late. The flash had hit the group dead on, and they stumbled, blind and deaf at the hands of the grenade. That was their cue.

Fox crouched for a moment before springing to action. His knees snapped forward, propelling him out into the hall, bringing him face to face with his incapacitated attackers. He rolled for cover, slamming his pistol down on top of a stray box. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Falco do the same, leaping for another box slightly behind his. The pirates were still blind, but the effect would wear off soon. They needed to go, now.

"Open fire!" he yelled at Falco, aiming his own blaster at the nearest stumbling figure. He squeezed the trigger, feeling it push back against his finger until...

 _Bang!_

A burst of color tore out of the end of his gun. The laser lingered in the air for a split second, illuminating the hallway an aggressive red before slamming into the nearest enemy. He howled in pain as the shot connected with his chest, leaving a smoldering burn on his jacket. He fell down, clutching at his wound.

Fox quickly lined up his next shot, the pirates already recovering from the shock of the explosion. He looked down his sights, hovering over a second invader and not hesitating as he loosed a second bullet. The gun kicked back in his hands, sending a ripple down his arms. A second hostile collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. Glancing over at Falco, he saw a flurry of blue shots originating from his rifle, ripping through the hall. They connected with their first target, then their second, each hitting the ground motionless.

Fox lowered his pistol to get a better view, and he was rewarded with three more confused pirates at the back of the hall. The barrel of his blaster settled over his next target, but by then the pirates' senses had returned. They immediately dove for cover, temporarily avoiding the fate that had befallen their friends. Now they were in a standoff. Camped behind boxes and crates, each group sent volleys of color screaming down the passage towards the other.

Shot after shot flowed from Fox's pistol, blanketing the end of the hall in suppressing fire, forcing the pirates to duck for a moment. Beside him, he noticed Falco take advantage of the small break in enemy awareness. He rose up from his crouch and sprinted for a better position further up in the hallway, sliding behind a container of plastic piping. Fox heard one of the pirates gasp and shuffle away as Falco's projectiles collided with the floor inches away from his hip. They were in a stalemate, each trying to anticipate the other's move.

The first group of raiders was still isolated in the segment of hallway behind them, but they had ceased pounding on the solid steel door. A knowing grin appeared on the vulpine's face, and he twitched his ears around to get a better listen as he continued firing. Dead silence. Nobody on that side of the door so much as moved a muscle. Suddenly, the quiet was broken by a muffled exclamation.

"...Holy crap, that robot's got a drill!"

The other room exploded in a frenzy of blaster shots, frantic yelling and whirring metal. Fox managed a chuckle. When he, Slippy, and Falco has disabled the killer robot earlier, they had stored it down here, thinking it would be safe, out of the way, and could do no harm. Oh, how wrong he was. Slippy had been able to reactivate it remotely, and set it after the bottled up pirates. Judging by the sound of things, it was having the time of its life.

Fox snapped back to attention when he saw Falco tag down one of the three remaining invaders, catching them out of position and dropping them to the metal grating with a loud grunt. The last two managed to coordinate though, and their combined shots forced him to fall back to Fox's box. They both had to hit the ground behind cover, suddenly on the defensive as the pirates' bullets sailed overhead, cracking against the sturdy metal hull. They fizzled out of existence after colliding with the wall, each on leaving behind a charred black mark as its memorial.

Both the fox and bird sat there, trying to plan their next move. Fox noticed that he was panting hard, the wind ragged across his dry mouth, so he gave himself a second to calm down and catch his breath. Looking around, he took stock of his surroundings, searching for anything useful. His hand brushed over a few red grenades in his belt, but he hesitated to use those in such a confined space. No sense in tossing an explosive when they could just throw it right back. He peeked his head over the box he was pressed against, analyzing the rest of the room for a stray helpful object. A barrage of red and green lasers forced his retreat instantly, but he smiled. He didn't need more than the half-second of vision that he got. He leaned over to Falco, who was adjusting a few settings on his rifle. He pulled another blue sphere from his belt, and placed it in his friend's hand. Falco looked up, suspicious.

"I doubt they'll fall for that one twice, Foxy," he said, panting a little less now.

Fox shook his head, still smiling. Falco arched an eyebrow.

"I know that smile," Falco started. "That's your, 'I'm about to do something crazy and stupid' smile." Fox nodded, grin plastered to his face. This elicited a sigh of resignation from the bird. "Alright, I'm game," Falco said, realizing he was participating in this whether he wanted to or not. "So I throw this," he said, gesturing to the small blue ball, "then what?"

"Then? Then you see something cool," Fox said, readjusting the blaster in his hand.

Falco shrugged. He was used to Fox being evasive in these situations. He usually didn't have to bail him out of the deep end after everything was said and done. "Whatever you say, Orange. I'll throw on your mark," the avian said, getting ready to toss the sphere.

"Wait," Fox said, holding the grenade down. "Don't activate it when you throw it."

Falco's mouth opened to say something sarcastic. After a second though, he just sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "So, you want me to take an unlit grenade, and toss it to the baddies over there?"

Fox nodded.

Falco rolled his eyes.

The two got in position, and Fox's hand made a countdown once more.

 _Three..._

 _Two..._

 _One..._

 _Go!_

Falco lobbed the grenade over his head without pressing the button. Fox's ears listened carefully. It bounced against the metal grating on the floor, making a distinct click with each jump. Eventually, it came to a halt halfway between both parties. On the other side of the room, Fox heard the pirates call to each other.

"It's another flash!"

"Close your eyes!"

At this, the pair ducked behind cover, weapons clacking against the floor as they ducked down. Everything was going according to plan. As soon as he knew they were looking away, he leapt to his feet, blaster in hand. Not afraid of the unlit flash grenade, he crouched, keeping his aim steady, and began putting round after round into one of the boxes the pirates were using for cover. Fox's teeth gritted as he pulled the trigger as rapidly as possible.

The box began chipping under the constant laser fire, glowing flakes of plastic and char flying to the floor. Fox was silent as he aimed for the thinnest section of the box, trying to tunnel his way through it before the pirates could realize something was amiss. The box turned red under the constant heat of the blaster, a spray of sparks leaping from the impact site. He grimaced, worried he'd miscalculated how long this would take. He just needed a few more seconds... The pirates began to rise to their feet, suspicious from both the lack of explosion and continuous gun fire. Just as their heads peeked over the cover, Fox gasped in relief as he saw what he was looking for; the dull shine of a metal canister inside the box. His spirits soared. This was going to work. He dove back for cover.

"Ready?" he asked Falco, who still had a quizzical look on his face. Fox peeked out of cover one last time, and put a final shot directly into the metal tanks. His chest hit the ground hard as he threw himself to the floor. The box instantly detonated with a roar, rocking the floor and causing the lights to flicker. A plume of cold, white smoke burst out, enveloping the far end of the hall. After the initial shockwave pulsed down the hall, a loud hissing sound emanated from the scattered remnants of the metal containers. The clouds flowed to fill the entire hallway, their icy encasement making Fox shiver. Behind their cover, Fox and Falco were protected from any damage from the blast. The same could not be said of the pirates, who now laid motionless at the end of the hall, their cover reduced to a series of burst tanks, spread haphazardly across the floor.

Fox looked over at his neighbor, whose eyes were huge with shock. He tried to ask Fox what the hell had just happened, but still reeling, all he could do was open and close his mouth, making a series of disbelieving noises and arm movements. With a sideways smile, Fox tapped his temple in response to the avian's unspoken exclamation.

"Liquid nitrogen tanks. Slippy keeps them down here for cooling the engines," Fox announced, proud look glued to his face.

Falco continued to stare at him in astonishment, but soon he groaned as a realization hit him.

"Dammit Fox. You said something 'cool' would happen, didn't you?" Falco muttered, the pun proving too great for the poor bird. The vulpine's grin only grew bigger. "Why are we even friends? Why do I do this to myself?" Falco couldn't hold back forever though, and eventually gave off a small laugh, holding his head in one hand.

The smoke thinned, and with another countdown, the duo peeked out from behind the box, guns searching for any remaining enemies. They came up empty though, and after a quick sweep of the hall, it looked like all of the pirates had been dealt with. Fox let out a long exhale. It felt like he'd been holding his breath during the entire fight.

After confirming they were alone for a second time, they turned their attention back to the steel door that trapped the first set of pirates. Fox rested his ear gently against the door, its cool surface making him shiver. He listened for any sign of movement, but was only met with the ambient murmur of the ship in response. He nodded to Falco, signaling that everything sounded good. The bird's form relaxed. Fox would've given that robot a medal if it hadn't committed mutiny earlier. Satisfied, he pushed away from the door and collected his blaster from the ground. A white film had accumulated on his shoulders from the condensed nitrogen, and he wiped it away, revealing the red shoulder plates underneath.

He started walking towards the stairs, back to the bridge. Falco jumped up beside his friend, elbowing him in ribs. They'd done it. The bird gave Fox a cocky grin, still bouncing from the rush of battle. The vulpine let out an amused breath in response, taking the stairs alongside his teammate. He faltered a few steps up, though.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but something seemed... off. Fox bit his lip, unsuccessfully trying to shake the feeling. Seeing his hesitation, Falco looked over at him and smirked.

"What's the matter, Foxy? Not had enough yet?" the avian grinned, still on an adrenaline high. "Don't worry, if you still wanna scrap, I'm sure that the bot would be more than happy to put a few rounds in the ring with you."

That made it click. Fox raced back to the door, pressing his ear up against its cool surface once more. Absolute silence. He shook his head, not understanding. When they'd taken the robot down earlier, it had been crazed. It drilled into surfaces at random and toppled over any object it could find. In other words... It made a racket. So why couldn't he hear it now? A sinking feeling churning in his gut, he flipped his wrist up to his face to ping Slippy. He'd be able to tell him what was going on.

The communicator dialed for a moment, waiting for a response from the frog. It never came. Fox broke into a cold sweat. Why wasn't Slippy answering? He pinged him one more time, but again, no reply. He turned to face Falco, but he was already tapping the device on his wrist too. The avian looked up, shaking his head. Something was very, very wrong. Fox rushed to the door one more time, worried they might be in immediate danger.

Thrusting his ear against the metal, he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating all his mental power to his ears. He listened for the smallest sound, he tiniest creak, the faintest click. He was finally met with something other than silence.

A low hiss.

It was incredibly faint, but definitely present. It was also very familiar. Back at the academy... He'd heard it during field training. He wracked his brain, desperately trying to recall why he was acquainted with the noise. Then he remembered. The sound filled his entire body with ice. Thermite. His eyes widened when he realized what was about to happen. He yelled at Falco to run, but they only managed to put a few yards between them and the door when it went off.

The flash grenade going off had produced a relatively large bang, but it was harmless when Fox had closed his eyes and covered his ears. The liquid nitrogen had left his ears ringing and whipped at his fur, but again, it was manageable. The explosion that went off behind the steel door was enough to rip it from its supports, rending a massive hole in it like it was tissue paper. The sound didn't even register to Fox; all he could hear was a constant whine as his ears popped from the immense shockwave. He and Falco had put enough distance between them and the door that they weren't hit by any shards of shrapnel, but the force of the blast knocked them off their feet with ease, flinging them against the nearest wall.

Fox coughed and groaned, body tossed to the floor. The world came and went in nauseating cycles, fading closer to black each time. The hall was spinning violently around him. As his vision faded, he saw a dark figure bent over him, a sinister grin on his face. He stood back up and delivered a swift kick to Fox's ribs, slamming him into unconsciousness.

/

Fox grunted, brought back to lucidity by a stinging slap to his cheek. He opened his eyes, groggy. The world was blurry, but he was able to make out a few forms standing in front of him. They were blobs of color, moving and shifting in front of a dark background. It looked like they were speaking to him, but their voices were muffled and distant. He blinked sleepily as he tried to understand what language they were speaking. They waited for a response from him, but Fox's mind felt like it was made of cotton, and all he could manage was a mute stare through half-shut eyelids. The issue was quickly remedied when one of the figures took a small step back, then rushed forward, punting him square in the ribs again.

The pain was immediate. He inhaled sharply, biting back a cry as a metallic taste dripped over his tongue. His screaming ribs cleared his vision, ears, and mind simultaneously. Adrenaline flooded his body as he realized they were injured, if not by the explosion, then by this ass and his kicking compulsion. Probably not broken, but badly bruised. The dark animal leaned in to ask his question again, Fox now alert enough to understand it.

"I don't think you heard me the first time," the animal spat, trying to sound sophisticated and important, but mostly coming off as crass. He was a tall black dog, with a white, triangular tattoo under one eye. His fur was coated in a slick residue, looking like he either hadn't bathed in a week or used far too much hair gel. Judging from the overwhelming rosy stench of his cologne, Fox was willing to guess the latter. He shot off another deadly smile, slowly pulling a revolver from his belt and pressing it against the vulpine's forehead. The barrel separated the short fur on his head, stinging the sensitive skin underneath. "What," he paused for dramatic effect, nearly causing Fox to roll his eyes, "is your name?"

Fox didn't cave to his threats. He'd had guns to his head before, held by much more intimidating people than this. Instead, he kept his emotions in line, answering militantly and with steel in his voice. "Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox." He was pleased he managed to keep the agony out of his voice, despite the burning sensation in his torso. He stole a glance at the gun the dog held. Six shots, forged from rusting iron. It might have been an old-fashioned projectile weapon, but it'd certainly get the job done. He didn't care for the dog's name in return, but judging by his flamboyant nature thus far, he assumed he'd be getting it regardless. Before he could provide it though, Fox quickly took stock of the situation.

Glancing around, he realized they were in the reactor room. The floor hummed below him, vibrating as the powerful generator below their feet supplied energy to the rest of the ship. It was a cavernous room, with the ceiling reaching several yards above them. A dim light trickled down from emergency lamps set in the roof, silhouetting a network of steal beams vaulted above them. The floor was another steel mesh, shoving roughly into his knees. The reactor was visible through gaps in the floor, casting a constant red light upwards. Heavy boxes and machines littered the room; spare parts for the most vital segment of he Great Fox.

He didn't look around for his teammates, not wanting to arouse suspicion. If they kept him alive though, it was likely that Slippy and Falco were fine. As if in response, he heard somebody shuffle behind him. When the fabric of their clothes stretched, it made a sound distinctive to their flight suits. So the three of them were safe, at least. He froze up, thinking about the fourth person on board. He'd been confident in her safety before, but now he wasn't so sure. He bit his tongue. She was clever. She'd be ok. There was no way they'd swept the entire ship yet, and her room was in remote corner of the lower decks. His wrists were bound, realizing this when he tried to pull them from behind his back. There were at least seven pirates in the room, plus however many were standing behind him. Not that it mattered - with this searing pain in his chest, he doubted he'd be able to put up much of a fight. One hit and he'd be down for the count.

The dog holstered his gun for the time being, beginning to pace back and forth across the room slowly. He made grand hand gestures as he walked, and one of his grunts had to duck to avoid getting smacked as he strolled by. "Star Fox, you say? Well then," the dog exclaimed, making a broad sweeping motion with both hands, the same grunt having to hit the deck to avoid getting hit in the deck. He leaned in close to Fox, his muzzle less than an inch from his face. Fox had to suppress a shudder at the feeling of his sticky breath disturbing the fur on his cheek. "Aren't. I. In. Luck!" he finished, whispering each word carefully in Fox's twitching ear. This guy was starting to bug him.

He pulled back again, resuming his pacing and wild gesticulation. "Someone very important wants your head, Fox. Someone I will be more than happy to supply it to." This didn't surprise him. He'd made more enemies than friends in this line of work. The dog came to a halt, attempting to strike a valiant pose. One arm was outstretched to the heavens, his chin held high. "I shall be the one to defeat the hero of Lylat! And all will know my name when I do..." He stood tall on his toes, hand outstretched, reaching for the divine itself as his speech came to its climax. "The name... Dirk!"

Behind him, Fox could hear Falco failing to stifle a laugh, a sputtering sound escaping his beak. Fox himself was having a hard time believing this guy was for real. The dog cast both of them an annoyed glance, but continued.

"Originally, we just wanted to rob you people blind, but when I saw what ship this was..." the dog cast them a smug smirk. "We decided to go for broke, and collect ourselves a little bounty along the way." Chuckling a little, he finished, "Oh, and how our gamble has paid off _handsomely_."

The gravity of their situation began to sink in. This lunatic was going to kill them and steal the ship. His heart beat more quickly at the thought, but he kept his expression sharp. He tugged at his restraints, trying to free himself, but the ropes were snug, digging into his forearms. He tried to work his claws across the cords, but they were placed to high up to reach. Silently cursing, he realized they'd also confiscated the knife he stored in his boot.

 _Think Fox, think!_

His mind desperately searched for a plan, for any way out of this disaster. He played through a million scenarios as the dog continued his diatribe, but they all ended with him and his crew dead. If he tried to make a break for it or fight, they were heavily outnumbered and outgunned. He started to panic. He couldn't find a way out of this one.

The dog's speech came to a close. "So," he said, pulling his revolver from its holster. He gave the chamber a spin, looking at its movement with fascination for a moment. When the gun came to a halt, his eyes flicked to Fox, any hint of humor flushed from them. He suddenly exuded an incredibly threatening air. "Any last words?"

This was it. He stopped pulling at the restraints, realizing it was a fruitless endeavor. His mind reeled. He might not be able fight his way out, but maybe he could reason with the dog.

"Wait," Fox said, this time the distress clear in his voice. "Just take me, and let my crew go. You said the bounty was just for me - they don't need to die too." He heard Falco and Slippy protest behind him, but he turned around, ignoring the excruciating complaint from his chest as he did so. He shot them a pleading glance, begging them to keep casualties as low as possible. They both bit their lips, but remained silent. Behind him, the dog chuckled.

"No can do, Fox," the dog said, relishing the pained expression on the vulpine's face when he heard the words. "I get credits for every member I bag. Someone must really have it out for you people," he said, contemplative. "At least your last words were selfless," he sighed, still laughing. "Well, this has been fun, hasn't it?" he asked the vulpine, only receiving the hatred expressed by his bared fangs in response. This only made his enjoyment of the situation increase. "Still," he said simply, strolling towards his hostages. "All good things must come to an end," he stated, pressing the revolver to Fox's forehead one last time. His finger pulled down on the trigger, and he heard the chamber start to rotate, making a click with each millimeter it spun. Fox pinned his ears down, bracing for the bullet.

... _Bang!_

Fox gasped, eyes flying wide open at the shot. He heard the gun fire, but it was distant, echoing across the lofty room. He expected to feel a pain like none other, but to be put out of his misery quickly with a final tide of unconsciousness. It was strange. Fox had anticipated his vision being washed out in an ocean of red, or for a feeling of nothingness to envelop him as his mind ground to a halt. But none of this came. Blinking a few times, he looked around. He felt notably unchanged.

He was alive.

...Did that oaf manage to miss at point blank? His eyes darted up to the revolver still pressed against his head. No smoke came out of the barrel. He hadn't pulled the trigger. Fox grew even more puzzled, and glancing around the room, confusion was clear on the faces of the pirates too. Where did that shot come from? Fox's ears perked back up, a tiny glimmer of hope appearing on the horizon when he asked himself a better question.

 _Who did that shot hit?_

The revolver slipped out of the dog's grasp, and it fell to the ground with a small clatter. A grin appeared on Fox's face, his question answered. The leader's expression, previously full of amusement, had contorted in shock. One hand clutched his chest, desperately clawing at it. His eyes were fearful, and his breath was short before stopping entirely. Letting out a small cry, he fell to the ground with a soft thud, motionless. A red spot blossomed on his shoulder, with a matching pool accumulating near his ribcage. Pierced right through the heart.

Not a single cell in the room moved. Nobody breathed, nobody flinched. The shot had been so unexpected, it had shocked everyone to stone. In their minds, the bullet that took out the dog was an impossibility. That made sure nobody expected the second shot either.

 _...Bang!_

Another pirate dropped. This time it was the second in command; a sandy colored female bobcat. When she fell, the rest of the invaders understood that they no longer had the upper hand on this ship. Suddenly, panicked calls and orders flew across the room almost as fast as the pirates themselves did. A third bullet whistled out, its crack reverberating in the confined reactor room. It struck a pirate running for cover, instantly laying them flat. Fox, still restrained and powerless to move, silently cheered the unseen assailant on, while simultaneously pleading that they had no interest in the three helpless Star Fox members.

By now, the pirates had their wits about them, and were working to pinpoint the assassin. A fourth projectile exploded from somewhere in the room and struck true, knocking over yet another hostile. This time though, the dwindling number of pirates were watching.

"Up in the ceiling supports!" one of them called out, pointing upwards. All eyes immediately snapped to the rafters. Fox glimpsed a dark form flitting from beam to beam, repositioning after their last shot. They carried an impressive sniper rifle, but despite its size, they were still able to maneuver with ease. The jig was up though, and they tossed the gun away, now reaching to their back for a new tool. Fox gasped, shock written all over his face.

Krystal yanked the staff Fox had lent her from its holder, wielding it effortlessly. Without missing a beat, she leapt from the support beams, landing directly on top of an unsuspecting pirate who had yet to spot her. Her weight, combined with her bringing the staff down hard on his collarbone, was enough to instantly put him out of commission.

It seemed Krystal was the master of stunning the pirates today. They stood star-struck, staring at the vixen as she stood tall over their collapsed teammate. She wasn't waiting around, though. She charged the nearest pirate, who was only able to blink by the time she was upon him. Building momentum by arcing it in a wide circle, she took both hands and swung her staff hard for his face. With a satisfying crack, Krystal knocked him out cold. He sunk to the ground like a stone. By then, the three remaining enemies had regained their composure. They slung their weapons around, releasing a hail of lasers and bullets on her.

Or at least they would have, if she weren't so fast. Fox couldn't help but let his muzzle drop; she was practically a blur as she herded the stragglers together, dodging everything they threw at her while simultaneously forcing them to sidestep and stumble away from her lethal blows. There was a fire behind her expression, and a smile teasing her lips. She was in her element. Fox was astonished at the sudden change in the vixen. Admittedly, she'd seemed leaps and bounds better today than the entire past few weeks, but there was still so much hurt in her mind. So much regret clouding her thoughts. Now though, all that had drained away, leaving the determined look of a protector and fighter behind. He saw willful life fill her body. He couldn't help but feel color rush to his ears. She was beautiful before, but now, with that determination in her jaw and that passion on her face... His heart skipped a beat at the stunning force of nature in front of him.

Fox studied her face, basking in her intense glow. After a few moments, a glint appeared in her eye. She'd seen an opening.

She came to a dead stop, crouching low and diving straight away from the now closely grouped pirates. One of them grew eager, spotting an opening, and charged her. Krystal grinned, knowing what came next.

As the pirate advanced on her, he sprinted right in front of another raider's line of fire. A shot hit him square in the back, his friend unable to release the trigger in time. His mouth opened in a silent scream before colliding limply against a tall crate. He flopped on his stomach, burn mark branded through his coat. She nodded, satisfied her plan had worked as she wanted. Unfortunately though, she now found herself across the room from the final two pirates. Her gaze crossed the room quickly, and she bit her lip, concern visible on her face. She only saw one way to finish the job.

The last two opened fire, but she weaved around the room, ducking behind a stack of boxes and swinging nimbly from a low hanging light pole. Slipping into the shadows of the dark room, Krystal scampered up a pallet of steel drums before leaping back to the ground with a graceful roll. She was too unpredictable to hit. After a moment, she called out.

"Fox!" she yelled over the gunfire, a little guilt in her voice at what she was going to ask of him. "Springboard!"

Fox parsed the command in his head for a moment before realizing what she was asking.

Oh crap. This was going to hurt.

He clenched his teeth, building up some mental fortitude for the next few excruciating seconds. Pushing his hips backwards, Fox rocked himself onto his heels, careful not to lose balance and tip all the way over. He winced at the motion, his chest already protesting as he stretched. He came to a momentary stop on his feet, but gravity soon dragged him back down. Leaning back the way he came, he fell forward and soon found himself on his front, with his back exposed to the sky. He groaned in anticipation of what would happen next.

Still dancing around the pirates' projectiles, Krystal sprinted up behind the now crouched Fox, staff held lightly in one hand. The gap between them closed a second later. Instead of running by him, however, she put on foot up on his strong back, preparing to step off of it. Her pushing down against his torso was enough to make him shudder in pain, but they weren't done yet. Letting out a tortured cry, he forced himself upwards, adding his own momentum to the vixen's. His extra push propelled her high into the room, the wind whipping at her hair. His chest screamed under the duress. He would have taken ten of Dirk's kicks over that. Panting, he collapsed, biting his tongue in an attempt to divert his attention anywhere but his aching ribs. His vision threatened to fade out a second time, but he forced himself to stay grounded in reality. He managed to tilt his head up from the floor, seeing what Krystal had up her sleeve now.

She sailed through the air, casting a long shadow down onto her last two victims. Caught off guard by her change in elevation, their guns were still aimed at eye level where she'd been just a moment earlier. She grabbed her staff by the middle, pulling it behind her shoulder and close to her face. She took aim, eyelashes fluttering as she shut one eye. Then, hand lashing forward, she lobbed the staff, sending it flying for the pirate on her right. The impromptu spear hurtled for his forehead, cutting through the air with a shrill whistle. The projectile struck true, a satisfying crunch produced from the collision. He was thrown backwards from the impact, landing on the floor a few inches away. The staff clattered against the metal grating, rolling for several yards before coming to a halt in one corner of the room.

Coming down fast from Fox's vault, Krystal ducked and rolled, nimbly easing the landing on her body. Unfortunately, the maneuver left her a dozen feet away from the last raider. The next few milliseconds felt like an eternity for the bound vulpine, as the tide of battle took a dark turn.

Having seen Krystal singlehandedly wipe out the rest of his team, the pirate realized he wouldn't be able to take the blue fox down before she already had him pinned. By the time he whipped his gun around, she'd already have him in the dirt. He couldn't win.

But he sure as hell didn't have to go down alone.

Instead of focusing on the vixen, the raider flicked his sights downwards; aiming for the restrained pilots kneeled on the floor. Fox stared straight down the long, dark barrel of his weapon. Though disoriented, he still flinched, understanding what happened next in this scenario. A despicable grin crawled across the pirate's mouth, and he wrapped his fingers around the hot stock of his shotgun. Krystal's eyes widened in fear, springing to her feet and bolting for the final enemy. Her desperate cry rang through the room. She wouldn't make it in time. With a cruel chuckle, the pirate rotated the trigger backwards.

 _Click._

The firing mechanism lurched as the gears and cogs inside ground together. It slammed forward, igniting the shell that would end Fox's life, then and there, in a spray of metallic buckshot.

But nothing happened.

... _Click. Click_.

The pirate pushed back on the trigger two more times, but was met only with a cold snapping sound each time. His face twisted in panic. The gun was dry.

Behind the prone vulpine, Falco and Slippy let out a rush of air, seeing their friend still breathing. Soon though, they started whooping and hollering, seeing the blue blue of the vixen sack the pirate and knock him clean off his feet. He sailed into a nearby box with a satisfying thump, seemingly immobile. After a long moment though, he stirred, seemingly not quite finished. Forcing himself back up on wobbling hands and knees, his breath came in painful bouts. With a rapid spin, the vixen rotated around one leg, building inertia. At the last second, her foot sprang out, connecting with his throat. The force of the hit kicked him backwards, and he collapsed on his back, finally still.

Krystal finished her pirouette and planted both feet on the floor, turning quickly to try and find any stragglers. All that met her eyes though were the scattered forms of the decimated pirate crew. The only sound in the room was the reactor's perpetual hum, radiating a warm heat and glow into the otherwise vacuous space. Eventually, her vision settled on the three hostages, still tied to the floor. She let out a relieved breath as she rushed over to them. The soft, pink pads of her feet made her silent as she ran. She had protected them. They weren't hurt. She bit her lip though, realizing that wasn't correct. Fox was putting on a brave face, but she could tell he was inches away from collapsing. Doubled over, his breath was ragged. He involuntarily grimaced every few seconds, but his expression always came back to a grateful smile for the vixen. Guilt welled up in her chest. She'd probably almost knocked him out again with her leap.

"Fox, I - I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that, I..." she stuttered, working his hands free of their cuffs. She was cut short by the vulpine's chuckle, still panting.

"Sorry?" he asked, mouth upturned at the corners. He shook his head. "Krystal, you just saved all our lives. If I have to take one for the team in the meantime," he stated, rising slowly to his feet. His legs swayed underneath him, and he put his hand on a box to steady himself. "Then I can do that." He looked into her eyes, admiring the lingering ferocity in her expression. "Thank you."

She looked down, a small laugh escaping her lips. She shuffled her feet at the compliment. "I just..." she looked for words, posture growing serious. "I couldn't fail. Not a second time." She looked back up, finding Fox's compassionate face. They both gave each other a small smile. Fox could still feel the world of anguish that had taken root in her soul, one that might not ever subside completely. Sprouting alongside that though, there was so much force and meaningfulness. His ears perked at witnessing it. He hoped it was there to stay.

Yet, despite his heart soaring at her strong will, he felt a terrible responsibility for everything tonight. If his plan hadn't failed, she would have been safe. Instead, he'd let his guard down. His lack of attention got him and his friends in a life threatening situation, and if Krystal had been hurt trying to fix his mistake... That would have been unforgivable. He felt a lump form in his throat at the thought, at how easily this could have all gone horribly wrong. He tried to bury the fear deep in his mind though. Right now, all he could do was show how thankful he was.

In his expression, Krystal saw a look of satisfaction, and... Joy. He was happy for her. She realized, still panting from the exertion, that she was happy for herself too. Even if she hadn't been there for her family... She gulped at the thought, but pushed on. Even if she couldn't be there for them, at least she'd protected these people who had already risked so much for her. Who clearly cared about her.

And that was a start.

The longer she stared at Fox though, the clearer it was something was wrong. Beneath the happiness in his eyes was a small twinge of fear. Reaching out to his mind, she could feel the negative emotions rolling off his consciousness in slow waves, covered by a thin veil of positivity. Her mouth turned down at the corners, wanting to know what was eating away at him. She held her tongue though, only sending a quick, concerned glance his way.

They looked at each other for a long moment, letting these thoughts flow over their minds. It wasn't long before their reverie was broken though, by a particularly enthused frog.

"That was incredible, Krystal! You moved so fast, I could barely see you!" the frog cried, leaping to her side. Krystal blinked a few times, drawn out of her thoughts. She looked down, and giggled upon seeing the frog bouncing up and down in front of her. "That was so cool!"

Falco stood up too, dusting himself off as he rose. "Slippy might just be onto something here," he said with an air of nonchalance. "That wasn't half-bad, Blue."

Krystal laughed, rolling her eyes at the nickname. After a second though, Fox noticed a hint of mischievousness play across her face. "So, is that my nickname now?" she asked, a teasing tone playing in her voice. "Where does that leave you and your blue plumage? Or do we have to share the title?"

Falco let out a quick breath of amusement. "Nah," he started, shaking his head. "I've never been big on sharing," he finished, now walking towards the exit of the humming room. The rest of them soon pulled in step, tiredness taking over their bodies as the adrenaline burned off.

"I guess we'll have to find another color for you then, Falco," Fox said, the group now out in the hall. They squinted and covered their eyes, the light much more intense out here. "A color like..." the vulpine trailed off, searching for a hue to match him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that glint of playfulness in her eye again. He adored it.

"...Like pink?" she said, finishing his sentence. Fox tried and failed to beat back a burst of laughter when the bird came to a dead stop, making a short choking sound. Fox looked over and gave the vixen an approving thumbs-up, which won him another smile he loved so much.

"As much as I would love to call Falco 'Pink'," Fox said, his laughter finally dissipating, "that one's already taken." Falco blushed further. Clearly she'd hit upon something important here. She'd have to remember to ask Fox about it later.

Attempting to save face and regain some of his composure, the bird let out a forced yawn. "Alright, alright, it's nearly 5. I'm going to bed, and if there are any more pirates, just let 'em have the ship. I'm not getting up for another week or so." Slippy made a sound of agreement, and the two of them trudged towards their rooms, dragging their feet. Fox, however, had begun to sway as he walked. He tripped over the ground a few times, grunting at the pain that bolted through his torso. Krystal turned her head to look at him, and frowned when she saw his furrowed brow. Fox opened his mouth to speak, attempting to filter the hurt out of his voice.

"I'm going to head up to see R.O.B. before I sleep, actually," he started. "That explosion did a bit of a number on my ribs, and I want to see if there's anything he can do about it."

Falco looked up at this. He had a little worry set on his face, but it was mostly washed out by exhaustion. "You gonna be alright, Foxy?" he asked, stretching his arms above his head and sighing. Fox let out a non-committal exhale in response, waving off the question.

"I'm fine, I just need some painkillers. You guys go sleep, I'll see you in the morning." Falco let out a grunt of comprehension. He moved to catch up with Slippy, who was already halfway down the hall. Fox took a left, still unstable on his feet. His hands were shaking, and he raised one arm to try and cover his torso. After a few more steps, his balance faltered again, and he had to a reach out to steady himself against a wall. Krystal bit her lip. There was no way he'd be able to make it to the infirmary without tripping over something and hurting himself even worse. She made a split second decision, nodding her head a little when she did. Instead of turning left towards her room, she spun on her heel, walking up quickly behind Fox.

"Wha-..."' Fox mumbled, looking down at his side when he felt something moving his arm, crumpling the soft fabric of his sleeve. His entire body went stiff when he saw the origin of the sensation. Krystal had lifted his arm up and draped it around her shoulders, supporting some of his weight as they walked towards the upper floor. The motion stretched his upper body, relieving some of the constant pressure on his bruised ribs. The break in the pain didn't register with him.

Blood rushed to his face, caught entirely off guard her sudden closeness. The muscles in his neck constricted at the feeling of her soft body pressed against his own, as she literally lifted him off his feet a little. Krystal's face was only inches from his, and he could hear her steady breath in his ears, which now stood tall, on edge. She was so beautiful. Her being so close to him... Somewhere in the back of his mind, it felt so natural. He wanted to melt at the feeling of their proximity, to totally collapse in with her and let her take some of the stress off his beaten body.

Instead though, his rampaging nerves got the better of him, and he moved to pull away. "Krystal, I - I... You, I mean - what..." he stammered out, face glowing bright crimson. Feeling tremendously uncomfortable and awkward, he began to pull his arm off her. She grabbed it before he could retreat though, resting it back around her neck. Looking up at him, Krystal saw his eyes had grown huge in surprise. She smiled back at his shocked expression, content at her actions. Somehow, his face burned even hotter than before.

"Please," she started, her desire to help clear in her words. She wanted to help. She needed to help. "Let me walk you up to the sick bay. There's no way you'll make it there alone." She held his gaze, determined to assist him. Fox's heart was racing, beating along at a million miles an hour. Her voice was melodious and pure, shaming the best music to ever come out of Corneria. Her accent drove him crazy, and he was desperate to hear her say anything at all just so he could soak it in. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he swallowed hard, his mouth bone dry. She'd already done so much for him tonight. Despite risking her life only minutes earlier, here she was, offering even more of her effort for his sake. He felt awful asking her to do one more thing for him, especially since he felt he'd done nothing to earn it. That, plus if she walked this close to him for more than a second, his stomach was sure to burst from all the butterflies flitting inside it. Her lovely scent danced in his nose; lilac entwined around notes of apple. It was all he could do to stop himself from leaning in and inhaling, surrounding himself in her aroma.

He instinctively went rigid, but she kept a firm grip on his wrist. Grudgingly, he knew Krystal was right. On his own, he probably would've collapsed after a minute or so, landing in a pile of boxes somewhere. So... He resigned himself to her help. Body still tense, he let himself lean a little of his weight on her, and stopped trying to squirm out of her hold. The relief was immediate on his bruised ribs, but his ears still twitched anxiously. Fox's eyes sunk downwards, trying to focus on anything other than the blue vixen pushed up against his side. "Th - Thanks, Krystal," he managed to get out, staring intensely at a pile of screws sitting on a stray cart. She looked up again, sending him another pleasured smile. The two walked side-by-side in silence for a few more minutes after that, all the while Fox trying to loosen his muscles and relax. His success was marginal.

Feeling him put a little of his weight on her, Krystal breathed out a small sigh of satisfaction. Still though, she couldn't forget the negative emotions she'd felt swimming in his mind earlier. She hadn't asked him about it at the time, but now she was curious, desiring to know what was wrong. Krystal searched for his mind one more time. She could feel her consciousness flowing outwards, seeking Fox. Eventually she found him, his mind just as strong as when she'd encountered him while trapped in her crystal. The warm feeling he generated was pleasant, and she lingered in it for a moment before using her limited powers to try and see if Fox was still in anguish. On the surface, Fox seemed content, if not in pain from his injury. She was glad to see this at first, but digging deeper, she once again uncovered that negativity buried below. She frowned, promising herself she'd get to the bottom of the issue before the night was out.

She walked slowly down the long passage towards the medical wing while her bare feet brushed against the cool metal floors. His boots, on the other hand, clanged lightly with each step, filling the space with the reverberations of the steel mesh. As they turned up the first staircase, the lights behind them flickered off, gearing down into low-power mode. The displays on the doors dimmed, only a faint glow illuminating their surfaces. All was silent after their departure, save the low rumble of the reactor beating below the deck.

A/N: Phew! This was tough. Nearly 20k words! I'm happy with it now, but man, this was a labor of love. So much drafting, so many edits. There are still parts I'm not totally satisfied with, but any work I put in now is just spinning my wheels fruitlessly. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter 2! Almost everything I wrote in this was totally new to me, seeing as I'm still relatively new to fiction writing. Please let me know which parts you like and which parts you don't like in the reviews! Any advice, criticisms or compliments help me a ton. Speaking of which, thank you to everyone who left a review, favorite, follow, etc. on the first chapter. It was great to see it get such an amazing response.

Anyway, chapter three should be up soonish. It'll definitely be shorter than this. Well, probably. Krystal should start coming out of her shell more and more, and Fox will learn what learning what these data spheres are (remember those?). If I've seemed cryptic about the history behind these two, that's because I like being mysterious :P. All shall be revealed in due time! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Stay tuned for more Star Fox goodness in the near future.


	3. Act I: Chapter 3 Infirmary

Chapter 3 | Infirmary

The Great Fox's infirmary had seen its fair share of bullet wounds and broken bones. At one point or another, every Star Fox pilot had spent a night in this wing of the ship, teeth gnashed together, being injected with vial after vial of coagulant or antibiotic as R.O.B. made incisions around their body. The room was designed to save lives. To drag a fatally wounded pilot back from the precipice of death. It did its job with a brutal efficiency, employing the best equipment money could buy to help beat the odds. Thankfully, the occasion tonight wasn't dire enough to need any of that cutting edge technology. Still though, every time Fox entered this room, he flinched at the fact that such extreme measures were sometimes necessary. When the ship was first being constructed, the medical bay's architecture had been specially designed to be soothing and calming, and to have a tranquilizing effect on its occupants. On this evening though, it only made Fox more uneasy than he already was.

If nothing else, he supposed the room did exude an air of security and confidence. Unlike the rest of the Great Fox, with its giant spans of dark steel and titanium, the infirmary was pearl white, with strong fluorescent lighting receded into its vaulted ceiling. In an effort to make the wing feel as inviting as possible, the entire bay had been condensed into a single, huge expanse, with a row of tall windows providing a viewport to the ocean of stars outside. The walls all tapered up to a point high above the ground, making the area look like a giant dome. The flooring transitioned from tough metal slabs and grates to heated ceramic tiles, warm to the touch. Up above, transparent pipes snaked around and through the bay, shuttling neon-colored drugs from nearby refrigeration units. The liquids made a soft rushing noise as they flowed, rhythmically interrupted by the electronic blips of the medical equipment.

There were two glass doors set into the wall, each with a decorative EKG reading printed on their surfaces, meant to convey the medicinal purpose of the room. They slid open with a pleasant _ding_ as Krystal passed through them, supporting a limping Fox on one arm.

"Thanks again, Krystal," Fox grimaced. "Making it up here on my own probably wouldn't have happened." They ascended a few stairs together, her soft, bare paws stepping simultaneously in stride with his thick boots. The room was dotted with eight identical medical stations, each fully equipped to handle any type of ailment, from a simple cold to a precision surgery. In case multiple people on board were gravely injured, Fox had installed more of the terminals than there were pilots, so he wouldn't be forced to pick and choose who received attention. Just the thought of making that kind of decision sent chills down his spine.

"I'm just glad I won't have to wake up and find you unconscious on the side of a hallway," she responded, pushing aside a rolling tray that blocked the path to the first examination table. "I wish you had asked for my help earlier." She murmured the words softly, her voice low and gentle. Fox knew she wasn't simply referring to lugging him around the ship. If he'd enlisted her earlier in the fight against the pirates, maybe this whole incident could have been avoided. Her question struck true, stinging him with culpability. His actions had almost killed them all. Almost killed her.

He buried the guilt when he spoke though, doing his best to keep a calm face and play the question down. "Just a poor miscalculation on my part," he stated noncommittally. Fox winced as he hopped up onto the padded bench, while Krystal helped him with a skeptical look, loosening her grasp around his wrist. A twinge of sadness settled in his mind when they finally pulled apart. "Luckily, you bailed us out at just the right time," he finished, forcing a chuckle to complete the illusion. She made a small sound of confirmation in response, but Fox could see her eyebrows furrow together and mouth pull to one side, suspicious. She wasn't buying it. Still, she said nothing as she pulled up a nearby chair and took a seat next to the console.

As Fox reclined on the bench, a small glass panel rose up on a pillar from a gap in the floor, coming to a stop midair. After a second, light flashed on its surface, prompting him for a username and password. He grabbed the device and began entering information into it. His fingers tapped around the screen mechanically, not needing to focus on the process he'd completed thousands of times before. The screen made a small click with each tap and one final chime when he hit accept. He rested it back on the grey pillar, and with a mechanical whir it lowered back into the floor, disappearing from view. Suddenly a new voice sounded in the room, making Krystal jump in her seat a little.

"Greetings, Captain McCloud," a robotic voice said from above them. Her head flicked upwards to try and find the newcomer, but she only saw empty space. Fox chuckled at her confusion, bringing her curious gaze back down to him.

"Hey R.O.B," he said, lying down on the bench. He looked towards the blue vixen, and couldn't help but grin as she looked more and more puzzled. "Krystal, this is R.O.B., the AI that helps run the ship. R.O.B., this is Krystal, our guest for the next week."

"It is a pleasure, miss Krystal," the robotic voice came again from the heavens. She relaxed back in her chair, now understanding.

"I'm charmed," she responded pleasantly. She moved her head around while answering, still not totally sure where to look while talking to him. When she heard Fox laugh again at her erratic twisting and turning, she gave up, finally resting her gaze on the entertained vulpine. He looked back at her with a crooked grin, opening his mouth to explain.

"R.O.B. runs most of the ship's equipment in the background, like the life support or autopilot. He's got some other programming in him too, so he's the ship's medic, janitor, and everything else we can't or won't do." At that, Fox snapped his fingers, remembering something. "That reminds me though, R.O.B., I need you to run a cleanup and jail protocol on the lower decks. There was a fight that needs to be scrubbed down."

"Certainly, captain," the robot replied. "I shall begin immediately." Introductions out of the way, R.O.B., returned to the matter at hand. "Now, how may I be of assistance?"

Fox braced, testing his injury by pressing down slightly below his sternum. A sharp pain shot through his chest, instinctively forcing him to gasp and jerk his hand backwards. After the burning sensation passed, he sighed at his poor reaction. "Seems like I bruised my ribs earlier, either from an explosion or a few kicks. Anything you can do about it?"

"Affirmative. Commencing preliminary scans," R.O.B. replied instantaneously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fox saw a small, semi-circular device emerge from the floor. Attached to a long arm, the sterile white instrument began moving towards him, hovering a few inches in the air. After a second it buzzed to a stop over his head, its sleek design arched over his prone body. Fox saw a few dim red lights on its inside surface, the hum of various sensors and detectors teasing in his ears. He recognized the device as a medical scanner, designed to generate a rapid overview of a patient's physical condition. After a moment, the machine began moving downwards slowly. It put out a constant heat as it drifted, warming his fur.

He turned to face Krystal again, catching eyes with her. A small smile played on her mouth, and one of her ears twitched as he looked at her. He returned the grin, taking in her lovely expression. Slowly, his eyes traced out the lines of her face, sweeping down her cheek towards her soft lips. He rested on her small ink-black nose for a moment before getting lost in the locks of sapphire hair falling around her shoulders. Feeling a blush starting to form in his face, he wandered further downwards, letting the lithe curves of her body fill his vision, her chest rising and falling steadily with each breath. Fox sighed, a warm feeling of happiness blooming in his heart. Everything about her was absolutely incredible. After a second though, she gave him a funny look, her expressive blue eyes watching his. Realizing he was staring, he ripped his sight off of her. He could feel himself glowing red, mortified.

 _Stupid! You can't just... just gawk like that!_

Yes, she was beautiful, but he didn't want her to think he was some kind of creep! He squeezed his eyes shut. Why couldn't he get the vixen out of his head? He'd only met her a few weeks ago, and they'd just had their first real conversation earlier that day. He barely even knew her!

As soon as those words ran through his head though, he knew they weren't true. After having fought next to her, talked to her, even shared memories with her... He felt like he'd known Krystal his whole life. Like she was a close friend.

He held his breath, keeping his eyes locked on the tall ceiling above him. Hopefully the situation was salvageable. He peeked over at her through his peripheral vision, and a sigh of relief very nearly escaped him when he saw her shrug and sit back in her chair. For one reason or another, it seemed like she didn't care. Maybe she hadn't noticed. Maybe she was too polite to say anything.

...Maybe she didn't mind?

Eventually, his internal uproar was cut short by the scanner coming to a stop over his toes. Its hot glow was extinguished with a bright chirping tone, and it soon folded up on itself before retreating back into the ground.

R.O.B.'s mechanical voice came from above again. He noticed Krystal resist the urge to look upwards and locate the source of the words this time. "Captain McCloud, I have successfully identified several bruised ribs, and no fractures or breaks." He let his breath go, glad his pain wasn't caused by something more serious. With all that had happened tonight, he probably deserved to be a bit worse for wear. "I also witnessed elevated body temperatures during the scan," he continued to Fox's horror, "possibly due to-"

"Thank you, R.O.B.!" Fox cried out, desperate to stop the robot from finishing that sentence aloud. He wanted to rear his head back and groan out of frustration. He just couldn't catch a break tonight.

Parsing Fox's outburst, R.O.B. went silent for a brief moment. In that time, the AI must have caught on to Fox's romantic predicament. "...Affirmative, captain. Upon further review, the thermal data is irrelevant."

Well, great. At least the robot was willing to throw him a bone.

Krystal's face grew more and more quizzical by the second. He bit the inside of his lip, anxious she might ask him what was going on. Despite her curiosity though, she took mercy on the poor vulpine, and simply leaned back in her chair with a small look of amusement. She had no idea what was happening between the two of them, but figured Fox was distressed enough as it was without her probing. Besides, anything she might have wanted to ask was cut short by R.O.B. pressing on with the matter at hand.

"Now, captain," the robot began, "would you like to begin? The necessary procedure should be simple and only take a few minutes." Fox nodded, eager for a change in subject.

"Sure. The sooner this gets fixed, the better," he responded, shifting upwards on the bench slightly.

Upon speaking the confirmation, a number of tools and instruments appeared from above and below, their sterile surfaces all hovering around the orange fox. "Excellent, captain. I shall begin treatment immediately," R.O.B. said. "Miss Krystal, I must ask that you exit the examination area at this time." The vixen noticed a glowing white box begin to luminesce at her feet, marking out an area surrounding Fox. "You may stay and wait in the rest of the medical bay until the procedure is complete, if you wish," the electronic voice finished.

"Oh, of course," Krystal said, rising to her feet. "I'll see you once you're done, Fox." She gave him a smile, dragging her chair back outside the glowing box. As she moved to sit back down outside the line, Fox let out a quick rush of air, making a small waving motion.

"Don't worry about me, Krystal, I'll be fine. You should go get some sleep. You've earned it after tonight," he said, trying to dispel her concern. Given everything she'd done for him, for the rest of the team, he couldn't ask her to forgo sleeping too. She shouldn't have to sit here while he fixed the consequences of his own mistake. That wouldn't be fair.

Krystal stood back up at his words, turning to face the vulpine. One eyebrow arched, she looked down at him with a skeptical expression. She wouldn't be warded off so easily. "Last time you said that," she began with a lightly chiding tone, "you would've ended up face down in a pile of boxes if I hadn't caught you." She gave him another small smile, making him blush, embarrassed at the truth. "You'll forgive me if I want to stay nearby this time too, so I can make sure you're _actually_ alright." With determination set in her jaw, she took a seat outside the glowing square. She playfully crossed her arms, making it very clear she had no intention of going anywhere.

Seeing her adamant posture, Fox laughed. He'd hoped in the back of his mind that she would stay, so he could only protest her decision so much. "I guess I haven't given you much reason to believe me so far, have I?" he said, finally working up the courage to look her in the eye again. "Well, thanks for sticking around, I... I appreciate it." His words brought a light look to her expression. He basked in it for a brief moment before finishing his thought, feeling the warmth well up in his chest again. "But seriously, if you get tired, don't just hang around for my sake." At this, Krystal crossed her legs as well, doubling down on her persistence with a satisfied look. Fox rolled his eyes, sideways grin on his lips. "I guess I'll see you in a few, then," he said. She made a small noise of agreement, shutting her eyes and reaching upwards as she stretched her sore arms and legs. When her eyelids fluttered open again, Fox was faced upwards, lying still on the bench.

"Alright R.O.B., let's roll," he said, waving one hand in readiness.

"Certainly, captain. The procedure shall begin immediately." At the robot's words, four walls began to rise from the floor, separating off the glowing box from the rest of the room. They rumbled slightly as they ascended, and Krystal could feel their vibrations in her feet. After a few seconds the walls came to a rest, their tops expanding inwards to provide a canopy over the area. Eventually, the vulpine was completely sealed within the new room, presumably beginning whatever treatment the AI had in store for him.

Krystal stepped over, gingerly laying one hand on its surface. It was warm to the touch. She pressed one ear up to the wall, its mild heat warming her cheek. The room must have been soundproofed, because even her sensitive ears couldn't hear anything from inside. With a sigh of disappointment, she pulled back. So much for making sure he was alright. She turned back to face she rest of the room and stretched again, feeling the tension in her muscles before letting them loosen. Allowing a small yawn to escape her lips, she scanned the rest of the room for anything interesting.

Eventually she landed on the towering vertical windows set in the wall. She strolled over to them, enjoying the sensation of the heated tiles on her paws with each step. After a moment, she reached the giant viewports. They curved up and over her, acting as a border to the speckled black canvas of space. She rested her elbows on their bottom windowsills, leaning towards the spotted expanse just outside. With each passing second, those pinpoints of light were coming closer, growing ever so slightly larger.

A small prick of curiosity tugged at the back of her mind, making her tail sway from side to side. She looked forward, getting a better view of the stars at the front of the ship. One of them must be Lyla, the sun housing the vulpine's base of operations. Playing with a stray strand of hair, she couldn't help but wonder what Corneria would look like. She'd heard stories about the giant metal buildings stretching into the sky, and about how the lights and colors went on as far as the eye could see in every direction. She'd been inside cities before, but Corneria would probably be on a totally different plane from anything she'd seen before. She envisioned something out of a fairy tale, with mammoth ships soaring in the clouds and huge gleaming structures pushing into space itself. Vaguely, she wondered what it must have been like for Fox to have someplace so astounding for a home.

At that final word, a sharp pain stabbed through her heart. She clenched her eyes shut at the feeling, unprepared for its sting. Images drifted in and out, of her family, of her own home. Nausea welled in her stomach. She missed them all more than she ever thought possible. The disorientation that she'd been feeling for the past two weeks began accumulating in her mind again, but she beat it back before it could take root. After all the help Fox had given her, she couldn't afford to slip back into limbo. Instead, she tried to think about something happy and let that fill her consciousness. She needed something, anything, to keep her mind off the constantly looming dismay. Eyes still closed, she grasped for the first pleasant thought that crossed her mind.

 _Ah..._

A tiny smile played on her lips. Her form relaxed, the stress releasing its hold on her body.

She thought about Fox.

A new picture appeared in her mind's eye, of the vulpine standing up strong and tall after destroying her crystalline prison. When she'd opened her eyes, his silhouette was the first thing she'd seen. He was holding her golden staff, his red and green flight suit hugging the sharp contours of his arms and chest. The flickering light in the room reflected off its surface, and cast long shadows on the floor below them. Despite the forcefulness he exuded though, there was something sweet and protective in his posture. Like she never had to worry about anything again, so long as he was nearby.

After blinking a few times, she'd focused, her vision clearing. She was immediately drawn into his emerald green eyes, their gravity slowly tugging her in. There was so much resolve and will, so much intensity in them. They were the eyes of somebody would go to the ends of the universe and back without a second thought if he needed to. They were the eyes of a fighter. She could have studied their vibrancy for days and not grown bored.

She sighed, letting the pleasant memory continue to wash her terrible visions away. The longer she had looked into them, the further into their depths she saw. Behind his commanding expression was a gentle kindness, beckoning for her to stand close and smile. Even now, she couldn't help but grin whenever she saw that softness in him. Who would have thought that a mercenary could have such a tenderhearted personality? A smile teased at her lips, remembering all of the warm looks he'd given her over the past few weeks.

That was another thing about the vulpine; he seemed so endlessly patient. Even after weeks of being nearly comatose, Fox had never given up on her... Never abandoned her. He'd always tried to bring her food she'd like, even when she couldn't thank him. He'd given her clothes and a bed, even when she couldn't offer him anything in return. He'd saved her.

 _Even when I didn't deserve to be saved._

And for that, she swore she would show Fox just how grateful she was for everything he'd done. Her ear twitched a little at that thought, a pensive look turning down the edges of her lips. There had been all that negativity in his mind earlier tonight. Even if he wouldn't admit to it, she could sense something was seriously troubling him. She shivered, recalling how frigid he had felt under the thin cover of positivity he'd thrown up, trying to conceal whatever was actually bothering him. Maybe she could start to pay him back by aiding him here. If she could just get him to admit something was wrong, she might be able to help him recover, just like he'd sparked her recuperation.

Krystal took a step back from the window, turning to look at the orange fox's newly assembled treatment room. A few minutes had already passed, so he probably wouldn't be in there much longer. She nodded, making a small noise of determination. She would help Fox with this, even if that meant she had to put her foot down and confront him about it. But... What would she even be helping him with in the first place? What was he trying to hide from her? She shook her head, not understanding. They had won the fight against the pirates, despite a few close calls. He was the only one who was hurt during the battle, and it was a mild injury. The skirmish had definitely been their victory. And yet despite of that fact, something about the encounter had shaken him badly.

Krystal plopped back down in her chair near Fox's treatment room with a small huff. She closed her eyes, replaying the events of the night in her head. Maybe she could find an answer there. Taking down the sniper posted outside the reactor had been simple enough; just a matter of keeping quiet and staying in his blind spots. After finishing off the guard and snagging his rifle, she'd tip-toed into the reactor room, the pads on her feet making her stealthy and undetectable. A black dog was pacing in the middle of the room while lecturing the three pilots, all of whom were restrained and helpless. She'd shivered at the sheer number of pirates standing sentry around the room, but quickly clamped her nerves down with a silent breath. She had to do this right. She couldn't afford to be nervous. Suddenly, she was ripped from her thoughts as the leader rushed forward and slammed his foot into Fox's chest, making his face twist into a grimace of agony. His mouth had barely suppressed a cry of pain. She remembered a burning focus coming over her mind in that moment, zeroing her vision in on the dog. He would be the first to go.

At the edge of her vision, she'd spotted a thin ladder leading up to the rafters. She climbed it, careful to test each step to see if it would groan under her weight and give her position away. Thankfully, each rung held sturdy against her feet, remaining silent. Eventually it deposited her on a steel beam near the roof, giving her a clear shot down onto each of the darkly-dressed raiders. It was actually a rather striking room when seen from all the way up there; the dim lighting of the emergency lamps casting dark shadows off the complicated shapes and surfaces of the machinery. The reactor's hum was quieter up here, but its warm glow still filtered through the steel mesh in the floor. She would have enjoyed the view, but her time was up. The dog had a gun pressed to Fox's forehead, a sinister grin on his lips. Ice froze in her veins. He was going to pull the trigger.

Krystal's eyes flew open, letting out a small gasp as she snapped back to real life. The memory faded from her mind's eye, but that sickening feeling lingered in the bottom of her throat. She hugged her knees, pulling them into her chest. In that single moment, she thought she was about to see Fox executed right in front of her. After losing everyone she loved not two weeks ago, the one person who had taken her in was going to die too. So much fear had overwhelmed her in that instant. Mere milliseconds stood between her and everything coming crashing down around her for a second time.

She took a second to breathe, feeling her body relax. She reminded herself that he was alive and well, standing just a few feet away from her. Whatever damage he did take in that fight was being remedied. Everything was alright. She didn't have to be scared.

Scared... A second after thinking that word, her eyebrows furrowed a little as the gears in her mind clicked.

 _Wait..._

Her ears perked, standing up straight as an idea occurred to her. Her heart melted a little at the concept. All those negative feelings that she'd felt brewing in his head before... What if it was fear? After having a gun shoved against his head and nearly fired, after skirting so close to death, of course he would've been scared. He must still be feeling the lingering effects of it, causing the turmoil she'd felt in him. That was the only rational explanation she could come up with.

Finally, she was able to relax back in her chair, satisfied that she'd produced some kind of answer. That had to be the reason his mind had felt so turbulent before. She lifted her head, looking at the vulpine's treatment room. He'd be coming out any second now. When he did, she'd help dispel the fear plaguing him, just like he'd helped banish the suffocating darkness in her own mind. She owed him at least that much.

Just as she finished her train of thought, the vixen felt the floor start to rumble, the tremors working their way into her toes. Suddenly, the walls jerked downwards an inch, separating apart slightly at the corners. The top quadrants crawled back into their original positions while the walls themselves receded back into the floor below. Slowly, the treatment room faded down into the rest of the ship, leaving only the orange vulpine behind, looking tired but satisfied. Krystal smiled. He looked much, much better than before; with more color in his ears and without the pain written into his features. Planting his feet firmly below him, Fox stood up cautiously from the bench he'd been lying on during treatment. He took a few steps to test his balance, and a small sigh of relief escaped him when he found he could walk without the stabbing pain in his chest. Looking back up, he saw Krystal still sitting in her chair, waiting exactly where she'd been before. He had to stifle a second happy sigh at that fact. Still treading carefully, he stepped over to the vixen as she rose back to her feet.

"So," she started, straightening her back and stretching upwards, "how does it feel? Can you walk?" She asked the question with a look of worry, ready to catch him if he fell again.

"Like new," Fox responded, twisting a little to make sure he'd regained his full range of motion. Everything felt fine to him, but she still seemed skeptical, so he decided to show rather than tell. He took one fist and thumped his chest a few times, the low thud eliciting a gasp from the blue fox. She rushed one hand towards him out of instinct, but hesitated when she saw his sideways grin. Not even a hint of pain was registered on his face. She pulled back, impressed. "Like I said, I feel great," he smiled. "R.O.B.'s a miracle worker."

She shifted her weight to one foot, hands on her hips. Looking him up and down, she had to admit, he did look more like his old self. He stood up taller and walked without the limp after each step. The nervousness disappeared from her posture, finally convinced she wouldn't have to dive and pull him back to his feet at a moment's notice. "Well, thank goodness for that," she said, a playfulness beginning to sparkle behind her eyes. She gave him a coy smile, spinning on her heel. After everything that had happened today, she was feeling remarkably wonderful; a significant improvement from the last several days. It made her a little giddy. And now, not only had she helped physically heal the orange fox, but she was also on the brink of helping him through the coldness in his thinking. How could things get better?

She looked back at him over her shoulder, sly grin still dancing on her lips. "You gave me quite the scare back there, Foxy," she teased as she headed for the doors. She tried the nickname on for size, testing how it felt. After a moment she decided she'd keep using it, partially because she liked how it sounded, but mostly because it got another soft, if not questioning, look from the vulpine. Realizing she was leaving, he took a few quick steps forward to catch up. After a moment he was by her side, matching her pace as they strolled through the glass doors. They made a second _ding_ as the pair passed through, saying farewell to the two foxes.

"Foxy?" he asked, mimicking her mischievous tone. He looked to the side, only to see her smiling at him with her head titled ever so slightly sideways. "I don't know if I need another person on the ship calling me that."

"Aw, but I thought it was nice," she said with a small pout. "If you really don't like it though, I wont use it." She looked up at him, hopeful. All he could do was chuckle, shaking his head a little at her expression.

"No, it's alright. Despite my best efforts, I still accidentally respond to it. Besides," he said, voice growing a little quieter, "I like it more when it comes from you. At least, more than from the brooding bird downstairs." Her grin widened at his words, a pleasured look in her eyes. Fox laughed and shook his head in response, knowing he'd just condemned himself to yet another person using that nickname. This time though... Well, he didn't mind.

The pair took a right out of the medical bay doors, heading towards the pilot's quarters. It was nice to see Fox walking like he usually did, Krystal thought to herself, with his normal forcefulness and grace. "Well then, Foxy," she started, making sure to draw the nickname out as long as possible. This secured an eye roll from the vulpine, but he couldn't hide the secret smile on his face. The vixen absorbed the look from the vulpine. She enjoyed putting him in an happy mood, trying to draw that warm grin out of hiding. "What now?" she continued. "I don't know how you could possibly top tonight's action."

Fox let out a short breath, amused. The pair began descending a staircase towards the lower decks and their rooms, side by side. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," he replied with a smirk. He glanced over at her, toothy grin on his face. "Let's see... We'll probably go play chicken with a giant asteroid, and after we've won that, we can pick a fight with a few planetary defense systems." He glanced down at his communicator, checking the time. "All in the next two hours before the day cycle starts, ideally." Krystal giggled a little at this, the twinkling sound making Fox's smile widen.

"That's quite a lot to get done in such a short time," the vixen observed. "Where exactly does sleep fit into your plan?" Looking over, she saw Fox shake his head, letting out a short breath.

"I think the universe has made it pretty clear that I'm not getting any shut-eye tonight." The two foxes pulled into the pilot's quarters. They walked down the long hallway together, their feet tapping in unison against the metal floors. After a second, Fox came to a stop outside the common room. Krystal paused next to him a moment later. "So, I figure I'll just play along and stay up until morning. I'll just call it acceptable losses. That way, I can pretend like I have some control over the situation."

The blue vixen made a small sound and nodded her head. "Who needs sleep anyway?" A pensive look appeared on her face, drawn into thought. After a second she glanced back at the vulpine, an optimistic look in her eyes. "Actually, would you mind if I stayed up with you? I doubt I could fall asleep either, after all the action tonight."

Fox's face instantly lit up at the question. "Oh! Of course, I-I'd love that!" He stepped to one side, gesturing towards the large room behind him. "I was just going to lounge around in here for a while. If you want to stay too, then go right ahead. I'd appreciate the company," he said, desperately trying to contain the enthusiasm in his voice.

"Wonderful." Krystal gave him a small smile as she walked past him, into the common room. She peeked back at the vulpine over her shoulder, still glowing. Her voice grew a little quieter. "I'm glad you seem to like having me around," she murmured. "Plus, this way I can make sure you don't go rush headfirst into another flock of pirates," she finished with a wily smirk. The vixen twisted back around after her comment, hips swaying slightly as she moved towards one of the couches in the room. Fox was rooted outside for a few seconds, admiring the blue fox who now had her back to him. She was just so... Marvelous. He loved seeing her in this playful, happy mood. It was a relief to see the life in her eyes, instead of hollow and vacant like they'd been ever since she boarded the ship. Sure, part of it was the fact that he was head over heels for the beautiful fox, even if she was way out of his league. For the most part though, he knew what it felt like to lose everything. He knew that pain very, very well, and hated the idea of anyone else having to suffer through it. If he could help rescue the vixen from that abyss and show her that people still cared about her, then he'd stop at nothing to save her.

The vulpine was drawn out of his thoughts by the rickety groan of the springs in the old couch, compressed as the vixen took a seat in the middle of the room. She bounced up and down on it a few more times, the complaining sound coming louder after each jump. Eventually she left the creaky piece of furniture alone, settling into the backrest while shooting an expectant look at Fox, who was still grounded out in the hall. She beckoned for him to come in, gesturing towards one of the cushions next to her. After blinking a few times, he realized it'd be a good idea to heed the blue fox's call. He jogged over, plopping down onto the grumbly couch with a light grunt. The force of him sitting down propelled her into the air a few centimeters, making her giggle.

After she came down from the vulpine's bump, she couldn't help but let out a small sigh, leaning back against the seat, closing her eyes. She felt so... So happy right now. Sure, that joy was tempered by the pain lurking in her mind, but sitting here with Fox was comfortable, and she chose to focus on that instead. There was an odd sense of familiarity to it, despite her never having sat with the orange fox like this. It was strange how quickly she and Fox were becoming fast friends, but she had no objections. It felt natural, sitting here and laughing with him. She let out a small, amused breath. If you'd told her this morning that she'd be staying up all night talking to a good friend, she'd have called you crazy. Hell, she wouldn't have been able to call you anything, as deeply entrenched in her own misery as she was. And yet, here she was.

It was all thanks to the vulpine earlier this morning. She smiled as the memory played automatically in her head. Him and his blueberry muffin had been enough to jar her from her trance. He'd rescued her from the torturous labyrinth that she'd built up in her own head. She shuddered ever so slightly. For a while, she thought she might never be able to find any joy in life again. Everything ahead of her had looked so vile and cruel. Because of him though, she was sitting here, swimming in happiness.

Unfortunately, she knew the same couldn't be said of the vulpine. With all those dark and cold thoughts she'd felt in his mind, it was impossible for him to be enjoying himself as much as she was. And that simply wouldn't do. She had a debt to repay. She'd try to light up the vulpine's thoughts both because she owed it to him and because... Well, she wanted him to be as happy as she was right now.

Krystal sat back up, turning her head to look at the other fox on the couch. They exchanged smiles for a long second, sitting in comfortable silence. His expression still pained her though; like he was trying to hide something. Whatever it was, she'd uncover and erase it. It was now or never. Her expression grew more serious and suspicious, sobering the mood. "Fox... Are you _sure_ everything's fine?" He looked at her strangely, not understanding.

"Totally fine, I promise. My ribs feel great. Why?" He felt like there was more to her question than met the eye, seeing her smile fade and worry take its place. He frowned a little, trying to figure out why Krystal had suddenly turned so grim. His eyes shut as he reached up to stretch, arching forward slightly. He concentrated on the tension in his bones before letting go, relaxation flooding into his arms and back. When he reopened his eyes, he was confronted with the vixen's distressed expression. His breath caught in his throat as their gazes locked.

Her eyes were laser-focused on his, darting from side to side as she analyzed his face. The playfulness they previously held was gone, replaced by a caring fierceness. They narrowed slightly, her eyebrows knitting together in concentration. Fox couldn't help but blush under her intense stare. It felt like she was trying to see straight through him, directly into his thoughts. And, oddly enough... He didn't mind. He was mesmerized by those deep, cerulean eyes. Even though he'd looked into them every day for the past two weeks, they were still as bottomless and complex as the first at time he'd seen them flutter open back on Cerinia. They made him feel... Peaceful. Content.

 _And you almost brought an end to them with your carelessness._

The words snuck into his mind before he could stop them. Their truth burned. He flinched a little at the pain, guilt flashing in his expression for the briefest of moments. He felt the muscles in his neck tense, his face pulling into a grimace before he could scramble to contain it. Once he'd bottled the feeling back up deep in his subconscious, his eyes darted upwards, trying to see if Krystal had noticed his momentary lapse.

She had.

"Fox," she whispered, the worry written on her face doubling in a heartbeat. She was pleading now, having all the proof she needed to know something was very wrong with the vulpine. "There's something you're not telling me. I can... I can feel it in your mind. Something's not right. Please, Fox..." her voice lowered, her eyes brimming with concern. "I want to help."

Fox gulped at her plea. There was no point pretending anymore. She'd seen right through his illusion, or maybe she'd just known the entire time. The guilt that he'd worked so hard to restrain escaped under her scrutiny, working its way into his posture, hunching him over slightly. This only made her look more worried, adding an urgency to her expression. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to spill his heart out to the vixen; to tell her how guilty he felt for putting her in harm's way, for bringing her so close to the end. He wanted to tell her everything. Despite all that though, he hesitated, his mouth opening and closing. Just this night alone, she'd already saved his life, hauled him across the entire ship, and given up a full night's sleep just for his sake. He shouldn't saddle the vixen with his guilt on top of everything else.

As it turned out though, "shouldn't" didn't mean "wouldn't".

Fox licked his lips, nervous. They felt rough under his tongue, his entire mouth having gone bone dry. After a long second of thinking, he looked back up at the anxious vixen. He'd tell her everything. No hiding, no waving off questions. He just wanted to get this off his chest.

"I... You're right." His sentence began haltingly as he tried to build up a little inertia in his speaking. He searched for the right words, trying to explain himself to the vixen. "I shouldn't lie to you. I'm sorry."

Krystal exhaled quickly, her shoulders falling forward slightly. She knew it; something _was_ wrong after all. Finally, she'd be able to get the truth out of him. He was going to let her in. Her telepathy had showed her how cold his mind was, and she could only assume that feeling was fear generated by their last fight. It only made sense. She needed to hear that from Fox though, to know for sure. She looked the vulpine in the eye again, giving him a warm smile. He returned it weakly, his mouth turning upwards a bit as he stared back at her from across the couch. He seemed so nervous, but he didn't need to be. She'd chase away the fear. She'd help him, just like he'd helped her.

"Tell me," she breathed.

Fox gulped, reveling in the waves of sympathy and care flowing from the vixen. He realized they both wanted this, to help and understand the other. So, he'd do them a favor. He'd tell her.

He took a deep breath. This was it.

"I... God, Krystal, I feel so guilty."

The short admission tumbled out of his mouth all at once, unable to contain it once it was started. He knew he owed her more of an explanation than that, but just those few words themselves took a tremendous amount of effort. As soon as he said them though, it felt like the vixen had removed a crushing weight that he'd been carrying since the fight. Suddenly he could breathe easier, an invisible clamp loosening from around his heart. He knew he'd made the right decision in opening up.

At the same time, a puzzled look appeared on the blue fox's face. Guilt? What could he possibly have to feel guilty about? Krystal frowned, not understanding. He was supposed to be afraid, not ashamed. That didn't make any sense. Fox didn't seem to notice her confused expression though, caught up in trying to explain himself.

"Everything that went wrong tonight, all of it, was my fault. I was reckless, and it nearly got my crew killed." His voice dropped to a whisper for the next part. "It... It nearly got you killed." Quiet as they were, Krystal had to stifle a small gasp at those last words, caught by how much sincerity he put behind them. Fox kept going though, his confession pouring out faster now. "When I tried to bargain with them, not even surrendering myself would've been enough. If someone like you had died, had even been hurt, because of my stupid mistake, I couldn't have lived with myself. It was seconds away from happening to, and I couldn't stop it. I thought all of you were all going to pay the price for my error. That..." He shut his eyes, trying to hold the horrifying idea at bay. "That would've been unforgivable."

Now it was Krystal's turn to gulp. She had entirely misjudged the vulpine. He wasn't scared for himself. He was scared for his friends. For... For her. Her heart began to race a little, thumping in her chest. A new feeling began blooming in her mind; a warm one, an excited one. Her lips parted slightly as she tried to say anything in response, but surprise locked the words on her tongue. He cared about them... About her, more than she could've imagined.

She was brought back to their conversation by Fox's sad chuckle. Looking back at the vulpine, he was shaking his head a little. "I know how stupid it must sound for me to say that. I mean, me, Falco, Slippy... We're mercenaries. We put our lives on the line every day." He let out a short exhale. He looked disappointed in himself. "You'd think that I'd be used to it by now, but I still start to feel like this after every close call."

Krystal reached for a response, but she was still mute, stunned into silence. She'd expected Fox to tell her how terrified he was when the dog had shoved a gun to his head, or how much the huge explosion had rocked him. Instead he was here, revealing how worried he was for her and his friends. In that instant, she realized that he couldn't care less about almost dying himself. It was the other three lives onboard that mattered to him. The fuzzy feeling in her chest expanded as she had a thought.

 _He's so... selfless._

Those three words made the blood in her face ran hot, color appearing in her cheeks. Her chest constricted, making her breathing short and unsteady. She blinked once, and when she reopened her eyes, it was like she was suddenly seeing the vulpine for the first time. She took in his unrelenting form, relishing his intent yet gentle posture, his unyielding yet affectionate eyes. He entire body tingled, like her skin was electrified. All the words she'd used to describe him earlier came flooding back, this time with a different meaning behind them. He was so kind, and patient, and selfless. So resilient and sweet. And...

 _And handsome._

She surprised herself as the list of traits continued growing, somehow managing to push herself further into her shocked state. After a second though, she realized all of it was true. Especially the last part, as she looked him up and down once with swift eyes. Damn, how had she managed to miss _that_ before? She shook her head in an attempt to suppress the frenzy that was making her mind race. She was unsuccessful.

What was this feeling? What was happening to her?

Eventually she managed to stutter out a short sentence, filtered through the waves of thrill and emotional commotion rolling in her brain. "I - I had no... No idea..."

He looked back up at her voice, taking in the vixen's astonished expression. He smiled at her, grateful that she'd heard him out and not immediately mocked him. "I promise, I'll feel better soon, I just need to talk to someone for a while. It helps take my mind off the feeling." He looked down again, some of the tension evaporating from his back and shoulders. "So, thank you. For staying up and talking, that is. You know, on top of all the other stuff you've done tonight."

Fox's thanks only faintly registered with the vixen. Most of her mental power had suddenly been focused on his strong voice. Its sound sent her reeling. There was so much steely power in it, eager to lead and fight. It was a voice that could rally anyone to battle at a single cry. Intermixed with that raw strength though was an ocean of quiet, shy tenderness. Melting back into the couch, she though about how nice it would be to dive headfirst into that sea, to be the recipient of that bashful love. It was a voice she wanted to protect and be protected by, to embrace and... and be embraced by.

 _Oh, goddesses. I'm falling for him._

Krystal wasn't the type to get easily flustered. Generally, it took a lot to put her at a loss for words. At the current moment though, all her mental faculties ground to a halt, overcome by the vulpine sitting just a few feet to her left. Words, thoughts, gestures, breathing; all of it was put on hold as the elation slammed into her. Heat radiated from her face and ears, venting the fiery tempest in her chest. Suddenly, everything faded from her field of view except the vulpine, his brilliant orange fur shining in her eyes. The only thing brighter than his coat was the feeling of his mind. The cold had totally faded from his thoughts, leaving his consciousness blazing and burning. The warmth he generated, both physically and mentally, slipped into her body, filling her with a constant buzz.

Slowly, a smile blossomed on her face, joy and ecstasy in her eyes. His fire crept into her mind, brightening every thought. She felt a light tug ever so slightly towards the vulpine, like magnets were pulling them closer. All she could think about was how happy she was. Sitting next to him, seeing his sheepish smile, feeling his powerful mind... All of it made her positively overjoyed.

"Oh, Fox..." the vixen murred, her voice sunny. "You know I'd do it all for you again without a second thought." Her thinking grew exceptionally clear, as the image of the orange fox pushed itself into every crevice of her mind. The ambient blips and chirps of the ship coalesced together into a symphony in her ears, all working in support of a single idea.

She was in love with Fox McCloud.

/

A/N: Viola! I give you chapter three, perhaps the most self-indulgent piece of fluff ever written! Geez, am I even allowed to post something that clearly only I'll enjoy reading? Eh, maybe someone else out there will like this. I promise, there's plot and action in the future! I just really wanted to work on the chemistry between these two, and try to get a feel for their dynamic together. In my mind, they're really playful when they're not over-the-top romantics.

Anyway, this chapter as a whole gave me a ton of trouble, for a few different reasons. First, I've started up a new job recently, so my free time is scarily limited to work on this sort of stuff, and most of it is unproductive time where I'm tired or not as creative as usual. Also, I had a whole bunch of writer's block while writing this and was generally questioning my ability to put words together, so when I did go to write, I only manage to eke out a few hundred words at a time, if that. Despite that, I'm pretty happy with how this has turned out. I'm taking some advice and returning to 8k word updates, because 20k last time was just absurd. XD

Aaaaannnddd that about does it. Huge shout out to everyone who's reviewing, favoriting, and following the story. Why are you doing that? This is my first time writing fiction! Go read something better than this! But seriously, it means so much to me that people are enjoying it. Special thanks to K.S. and Sanitarium for their feedback, it really helps to have fresh eyes looking at the story. Keep up your great work guys, love your stuff! To conclude, chapter four will be up sooner or later. I have about 3k written for it as of posting this, so we'll see how it turns out. Thanks again everyone, and stay tuned for more Star Fox stuff soon(tm)!


	4. Act I: Chapter 4 Flight

Chapter 4 | Flight

Krystal had never felt quite like this before. So excited and restless, wanting something sitting right in front of her so intensely, but being forbidden to reach out and grab it. The universe was purposefully teasing her, conspiring to toy with her. Attempting to drive her mad with these feelings, and it was very nearly working. The blood ran hot in her face and ears, while a cool rush made her skin tingle, forcing the soft fur on her arms stand on end. Butterflies flitted in her stomach, making her eager, giddy. Her breathing was fast and her heartbeat faster. Her mind oscillated between a hyper-active sprint and a slow, calm tranquility as it revolved around one thing.

The brave, shy, warm vulpine sitting next to her.

The brave, shy, warm vulpine that she was head over heels for.

Sure, she'd had crushes and flirted and dated before - who hadn't? But this... This feeling of total desire, of just wanting to be close to the orange fox, was far stronger than she could've anticipated. It wasn't a sensation grounded in her rational brain or any conscious thought process. It was rooted deeper than that, in a place without words for describing, without reason for convincing. Somewhere filled with instinct and emotion. And right now, that emotion was passion.

Truth be told, despite the new anxiousness tumbling in her heart, it wasn't a terribly romantic setting. They were in the common room aboard the Great Fox, complete with trademark sweeping steel walls that curved up into a low ceiling, and down into sterile white flooring. The space was fairly large, containing a living area, a dining area, and a kitchen. The first two were both down with her and Fox, while the large, rather expensive looking kitchen was elevated up above them slightly by a set of shallow steps. A horizontal panel of glass wrapped around the room, giving an unobstructed view of a long strip of black and white starry sky. Orange lights glowed lightly above them, automatically dimmed a little to simulate the night cycle on the ship. Krystal noticed that their light made Fox's fur luminesce deep red, like it was a sea of soft flames, inviting her to jump in and be surrounded by their flaring embrace. The room was incredibly sleek, giving off an air of modernity. The furnishings, however, did not. The vixen couldn't help but grin a little at the obvious contrast between the polished room and the decaying furniture inside it.

Currently, she and the vulpine were resting on a dilapidated blue couch with an army of small holes torn in it, revealing the cream-colored foam underneath. She idly poked at one of them, picking at the loose blue strings around the edges. Spread around the room were a variety of other antiquated seats, tables, and shelves, each looking more unstable than the last. She couldn't decide if they seemed out of place considering how professional the rest of the ship appeared, or perfect for the room given that this was, after all, a cruiser run by three men.

Ultimately though, none of that mattered. The most ornate and colorful furniture in the galaxy could have been underneath her, and she only would've noticed two things in the room. Her and Fox talking the night away, just a few feet of electrified air between them.

At that last thought, her mouth turned up at one corner as she had a mischievous spark of inspiration. She bit her lip in anticipation, the small ember kindling into a full, devious idea. Surely this was too much... Right? Could she get away with this? Was this a bad idea? Whatever the answers to those questions were, they were rendered irrelevant as Krystal's subconscious took the reins, drowning out the logical protests and cries of her forebrain. Without thinking, her body moved on its own, putting her plan into action before reason could wrest back control and stop it.

Slowly, she slid across the couch, closing the distance between her and the vulpine. The cushions failed to let out their usual protest as she inched forward, granting their passive endorsement of her plan. She smiled a little into Fox's rapidly-widening eyes, taking in the surprise broadcasted by their emerald depths. He opened his mouth to say something, but she wouldn't give him a chance to protest. Before he could move away, she lowered herself down, bringing her head level with his torso. Without missing a beat, the vixen leaned in, curling up against his chest.

The fur on her cheek brushed across his t-shirt, memorizing the lines of the strong muscles just underneath the fabric. Her shoulder touched across his, slowly moving down until she managed to corral herself under his arm. She let it fall across her neck, using it as a warm, orange blanket. A shudder of delight pulsed through her body when his fingers stirred the short, sensitive fur on her lower back where her shirt had lifted up slightly. She moved in further, pressing up more firmly against him. A feeling of overwhelming happiness welled in her mind as she did, forcing a content, embarrassed smile onto her expression. Her nose danced dangerously close to his chin, and it took all of her self-control to refrain from scooting up ever so slightly, from letting their muzzles contact. She could do it. Just an inch is all it would take, to let their lips graze against each other. She nearly burst with pleasure at the idea, overcome by idea of the vulpine's mouth, gentle against hers.

But... It was too soon. Someday she would, she promised herself that, but for now, their kiss would have to wait. Instead, she satisfied her need for the orange fox by breathing in deep, letting his wonderful scent fill her lungs. He smelled like cinnamon, the spicy aroma tickling inside her throat. As she breathed out, she felt all the tension flow out of her body. She was sure she was blushing like an idiot and grinning like a maniac, but that didn't matter. Being here, close to him, pushed up against him. The curves of her body matching up against his, leaning in and basking in the warmth of his body. She wanted to stay exactly like this, in his caring arms, for the rest of time. A small sentence fell from her mouth, her eyes closed. She put as much love and care behind it as she could. "You're so loyal," Krystal murmured. "So sweet."

Before she could even spoke the words, all of his muscles went stiff underneath her, his body turning to rock at her touch. She couldn't see his face, but she heard him inhale sharply, holding his breath. The couch beneath them let out another quiet cry as he shuffled back into its cushions as far as he could without displacing the vixen. He jerked his arm quickly off her back, leaving it cold and exposed. Not a single cell in the vulpine twitched. Krystal had to stifle a small laugh at his ironclad posture, while simultaneously sinking a little out of disappointment.

 _Well, that was quite the reaction..._

This was about what she'd expected out of him though, she admitted with an inward sigh. Especially after he'd gone so rigid when she'd dragged him up to the medical bay. She smiled again at how immediately and swiftly his body had steeled itself back then too. Only this time, she was close to him for her own sake, not for his. No matter what his response was though, this... this was right. The way things were mean to be. In the back of her mind, she absently wondered if this moment could get any more perfect. As it turned out, it could.

 _Poof._

Krystal heard the quiet sound next to her, and felt a soft pressure push up against her leg. Curious, she lifted her head from the vulpine's chest to get a better look at the foreign object. A small sputtering sound escaped the vixen's lips, trying and failing to contain a sharp giggle once she saw what was touching her. It was a sight she was sure she'd never forget. Fox's tail, which was already normally fairly bushy, had suddenly puffed up to twice its normal size. It had come to a rest near her waist and leg when she'd moved into him, but now it threatened to swallow her up in its soft mass. The poor thing looked like it had burst out of shock. The delicate orange and white hairs stood on end, each nearly as rigid as the vulpine they were attached to. With a growing grin, she realized it looked like a giant, cozy pillow.

Before she could stare at it for too long though, Fox's senses returned to him, his brain having rebooted after the system error caused by the vixen's sudden closeness. With a horrified look, he realized the extreme level of mutiny his tail had just committed. He snapped to attention, quickly snagging the traitorous appendage off of the vixen and stuffing it behind him, out of sight. He tried to stammer out any sort of explanation for the absurd reaction, but his face felt like a furnace, instantly burning up any words he tried to force out.

 _Crap. Crap! I'll never live this down. It doesn't even matter that she won't want to talk to me anymore, because I will actually die of embarrassment, right here, on this couch._

Why, oh why had the universe dictated that he would be incapable of playing it cool? He would have groaned due to the overwhelming cocktail of frustration, love, anxiousness and terror all sloshing around in his brain, but the vixen was still huddled up on top of him, nuzzling in closer to his chest. Which, unfortunately, meant that he had once again automatically gone on full lockdown. His body turned to brick underneath her, and no matter how hard he tried to free himself, he couldn't convince any part of himself to move. Well, any part except his tail, it seemed. He would have shot it a dirty look if he had control of his neck.

Despite the fact that Krystal only rested there for a few seconds at most, it felt like years to the vulpine. Each moment meant a new war raging in his mind, trying to figure out how he should react. Should he push her away? Should he stay still? Should he try to loosen up and pull her in closer? A small part of his mind reveled in that last idea, imagining how fantastic it would be to hug and embrace her, just like this. But, of course, he waited too long to decide. After the long, excruciating years of her pressed up against him, she finally drew back, giving him a half amused, half satisfied look as her face lingered right next to his for a split second. Eventually she returned to her original spot on the couch, giving the orange fox a moment to recover.

As she moved back, Fox slowly regained control of his body, piece by piece. He let his breath go, barely managing to suppress the instinct to gasp for air. He realized his face had gone deathly pale, but the color soon flooded back into his cheeks and ears in a fierce blaze of overcompensation. Once the initial shock had passed, the magnitude of what had just occurred began to sink into the vulpine. He'd just cuddled with the girl of his dreams.

He'd just cuddled with Krystal.

At that thought, his mind instantly exploded into a barrage of desperate questions, each being screamed louder than the last.

 _Why did she do that?_

 _Did I do the right thing?_

 _What did that mean?_

 _What should I do now?_

"I mean it, Fox." The melodic sound of her voice snapped him out of his thoughts, returning him, wide-eyed and breathless, to the beautiful actuality in front of him. "Worrying about all our lives like that... It's so selfless." The compliment made his blush glow ever-darker. He tried to wave it off through jumbled words and gestures.

"It's, I... it's, just the truth," he managed, looking away from her. The vixen let out a small sympathetic coo at that. He automatically tensed as she inched towards him again, but this time she settled for just scooting a little closer.

"Don't sell yourself short, Foxy," she teased. He heated up again at her words.

"Seriously, i-it's really nothing." Closing his eyes, Fox took a deep breath in a last ditch effort to regain some composure. He couldn't afford to shut down like this every time he accidentally bumped against her in the hall. He wouldn't even be able to make it upstairs if he lost control after each brush against her fur... Or-or whenever their fingers accidentally intertwined... Each time their bodies pressed up together... Their faces hovering inches apart... Quiet breaths intermingled... A-A soft moan escaping her lips, as he-

 _Focus, McCloud!_

He shook his head, attempting to dislodge the succulent image his brain had been building up to. So much for trying to refocus. At this rate, the vixen was going to make him melt into a puddle under the inferno his face and ears were putting out. The idea of him simply liquefying and sinking into the cushions seemed all to realistic in his mind. He had to change the subject, fast.

He replayed their conversation thus far over again, searching for something to draw attention away from himself. That sly glint in her eye made beads of sweat form on the back of his head, out of both fear and excitement. He scrambled faster in his mind for a diversion, knowing full well that she could send him reeling again at any moment with little more than a stray wink. And if that was just her opening move... Anything new topic at all would do, so long as it came _now_.

Eventually, one of his ears twitched, lines appearing on his forehead as he stumbled onto a thought that had been nagging at the back of his mind for a few minutes. It was something she'd said earlier that had bothered him. He would've asked about it before, but clearly he'd gotten a bit sidetracked with other issues. Now was as good a time as any to bring it up - especially before she had a chance to bring up his treasonous tail.

"Hey, Krystal," he started, straightening up a little. A pensive expression replaced the blush on his face. The more he thought about it... the weirder it seemed. What had she meant by that? Maybe it was just a turn of phrase, but after everything that had happened, he doubted it. He chewed on his bottom lip a little, thinking. "You said something before, and I didn't really... Understand what you meant." The vixen's ears perked a little, starting to breathe a little quicker.

"What's wrong? Did I say something?" She looked a little concerned, but the vulpine rushed to abate her worries.

"No! No, don't worry, it's nothing like that. It's just..." The vulpine looked to one side, trying to figure out how to phrase his question. "Before, you said you could _feel_ that something was wrong in my head," he said, slowly and intentionally. "What did you mean? Does it have to do with, you know... when we first met? When - when I saw your memories?" The vulpine gave her a mixed look, clearly not wanting to intrude, but still deeply curious. That moment back with her in the cave, the feeling of their consciousnesses connecting, had been permanently etched into his mind. It was one of the most intensely vivid experiences he'd ever had, and for the past two weeks, he couldn't think up an explanation for it. Maybe now the vixen could shed some light on the topic. And if it just so happened to distract her from her current train of thought...

Krystal shifted in her seat slightly at the question, hands clasping and unclasping. Her ears folded back a bit. How could she explain her telepathy to someone who'd never seen it before? It was like trying to describe sight or sound; her telepathy was just a part of her. Not only that, but even if she did somehow put together a halfway-decent explanation, he'd probably either call her a liar or delusional... Or worse, believe her and abandon her entirely, fearing her ability to enter his mind. She gulped at that last thought, not wanting to acknowledge the possibility of the vulpine shutting her out. Still, his gentle face couldn't mask his curiosity. She could tell how much he wanted to know about this. It had probably been bugging him ever since they first met. It couldn't hurt to try and explain it... Right? She tried to convince herself of that as she opened her mouth to speak.

"It's... related to what happened back then, yes..." she trailed off, pulling a blank. "There's this sort of link that I can make... I can find other people's minds and examine them... Sort of... See, people's minds put off a kind of heat depending on how they feel, and... I can intercept some of that, for the most part..." She put her head in her hands and groaned, totally incapable of explaining herself. At this point, she was just mixing herself up too. Judging from the vulpine's puzzled expression, she could only guess her "explanation" was leaving him even more lost than he was before. Trying to describe this with words was clearly going to be a fruitless endeavor. But, if she couldn't tell him, maybe she could demonstrate. A small idea sparked in the back of her mind. This might help him understand.

"Actually, how about this? I can show you. It'll be more exciting than talking about it anyway." The vixen settled back into the couch, sitting up straight while relaxing the rest of her form. She looked forward, focus settling in her features.

Fox's brow furrowed a little, interested. "Show me?"

The vixen nodded once slightly and made a small sound of confirmation, being careful not to break her concentration. "That's right. I need you to think of a few things for me," she started, glancing over at him while maintaining her loose pose. "A happy memory, then a sad one. I'll tell you what I felt when you're done."

She glanced over again, but this time only saw an amused, skeptical expression on his face, the tips of his mouth pulling up into a disbelieving grin. She giggled a little, shoving him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't give me that look!" she scolded, still laughing. "You're the one who wanted to see this. Now, do as I say," she commanded, pointing for him to sit back and think. She leaned back herself, closing her eyes. They scrunched up a little as she meditated, her eyelashes brushing up against the bottoms of her eyes.

After another second or so, the vulpine shrugged. What did he have to lose? Besides, if this was anything like on Cerinia, he was in for a treat. Back then, the feeling of the vixen exploring his mind had been unexpectedly pleasant, as she'd simultaneously tugged his memories out of hiding and put her own on display. He gave into the vixen's demands, following her lead and sitting back into the couch. His eyes closed, darkness encompassing his field of view.

 _A happy memory, huh?_

Fox had just the thing. Slowly, the dusk faded out as his mind's eye took over. After a long second, a dusty landscape took the blackness' place. Details faded in one by one, populating the blank canvas in his head. A few tall mesas jutted up from the ground, interrupting the otherwise perfectly flat horizon with their unyielding surfaces. The sand beneath his feet was finely ground, a mix of rich yellow powder and sticky red clay. Rays of harsh sun beat down on his head, but he was wearing a wide brimmed hat that kept him shielded from Lyla's heat. Hot wind frisked around him. It kicked up tendrils of dust into the air that swirled into invisibility as they rose. A few hardy plants had taken root around shallow pools of water, their waxy leaves reflecting the intense light, clinging to their cragged branches as the wind pulled on them. Small dunes rolled across the ground in waves, making the landscape look like a golden ocean stuck in time. This was Papetoon at high noon, in the throes of summer. Any sane person would say the arid landscape was far too hostile to support life. Fox would say this was his home at its best.

His boots left detailed footprints in the impressionable soil, but they quickly disappeared as the breeze chipped away at the small hill he was climbing. If it had been earlier in the morning, Fox would have gone barefoot, enjoying the sensation of the sand between his toes. As it stood though, the ground was hot enough to instantly char his feet, so he decided it was best to keep them on. The young vulpine turned his head to the side, looking at the figure climbing the hill alongside to him. The wind tugged at his dad's hair, making the ends of his red scarf whip frantically behind him. He had his hands in his pockets in an attempt to keep the sun off of them. Noticing his son was peering up towards him, James looked over as well. He gave Fox an excited smile. He was clearly eager for whatever was about to happen. Fox's heart warmed a little, remembering his dad's huge grin, always full of enthusiasm and wonder at... At everything. He was never too cool to be amazed by something, and had no problems with acting ridiculous in public, especially if it got a laugh out of his son. Back on the couch, he heard Krystal make a small noise, relaxed.

After a minute of trudging up the sand drift, the pair finally reached its summit. Fox let out a huge gasp when he saw what was waiting for them at the top. His pack made a small thud when he dropped it to the ground, immediately breaking into a sprint. He was soon next to the object that had captured his attention; the Arwing, gleaming in the daytime sun. He'd never seen it in real life before, only the pictures of his dad soaring in it over Zoness, Fichina, and all the other places he promised himself he'd explore someday. Now though, he could finally witness the ship firsthand in all its power and elegance. He reached up and ran his hand along one wing, the hot metal making his fingers tingle. The ship's design was full of hard angles, straight lines, sharp corners, sleek edges... Somehow, it managed to look both intimidating and artistic simultaneously.

James finally caught up to his excited son, joining Fox in admiring the ship. The young vulpine stared up at his father, eyes full of hope. It was one thing to see the Arwing, but maybe, just maybe... James looked down at his son, taking in the eagerness in his wide eyes. He pretended to deliberate in his head for a few seconds, making the young fox hold his breath in anticipation. Once he was done teasing him, he gave out a small nod. Fox barely mustered up the self-control necessary to stop himself from jumping up and down out of giddiness.

He was going to ride in the Arwing.

Back on the couch, Fox couldn't help it when a small smile twitched on his mouth. This had been such a monumental moment for him as a kit. It had meant the world to the vulpine that his father wanted to fly with him. To his right, he heard the blue vixen sigh, content. The beautiful sound only made him that much happier.

Back in the memory, his father kneeled down, lifting Fox off his feet. He dangled in the air for a moment, getting a brief glimpse into the cockpit before being set down on the nose of the ship. After another second James hopped up next to his son, his weight making the Arwing rock slightly. Once it stopped lurching, Fox stood up slowly to a low crouch. The last thing he wanted was to lose his footing in front of his dad. There was a low rush of air to his right, and looking over, he saw his dad opening up the tinted glass canopy of the cockpit. As it tilted backwards, Fox got his first real view inside the ship.

Most of the interior was jet black, from the seat to the dashboard. Set on the walls were hundreds of twinkling buttons, knobs and switches, each one controlling something on the craft. Fox had been studying flight long enough to know what was most important though, so he didn't linger on any of those gadgets. Instead, his eyes gravitated towards the stick set directly in front of the pilot's seat. It was the single most important part of the ship, letting his father pull off all the acrobatic stunts he'd seen in pictures and videos. This one was specially molded to his father's hands, the indentations matching perfectly to the contours of his joints and fingers. Fox could only imagine what it felt like, having the delicate precision and raw instinct necessary to control the Arwing as it screamed through the sky.

Fox was soon snapped out of his reverie by his dad whistling for his attention. The small vulpine stood up, blinking a few times before looking over. His dad had taken a seat in the ship, flipping a few switches while lowering a green eyepiece over his right eye. Much to his chagrin, this meant he had to take his sunglasses off. He stored them securely inside a small compartment under the console. The container closed with a soft click after he double-checked to make sure they were safe. Once he was done with the initial preparations, he looked over at his son, who was still standing on the nose of the ship. He beckoned him over, pointing for him to take a seat in his lap. Maybe it wasn't the safest idea to fly with a person sitting on him, but the Arwing didn't have a passenger seat. Besides, he could fly this thing blind and with one foot if he had to.

Fox scurried over to his dad, stopping a few inches away from the cockpit. James' feet were tucked away under the control panel, hovering gently over a set of pedals. His dad had used to joke that he needed metal legs to fly the Arwing so that blood wouldn't pool in his feet while he was performing all his dangerous acrobatics. To really sell the idea to his son, as they were walking down the street together sometimes, he'd pretended to "magnetize" to street lamps, making Fox giggle as he put on a dramatic production of desperately trying to rip his leg away to freedom. Of course he didn't actually have prosthetics, the G-Diffusers made sure that wasn't necessary, but he'd had Fox totally sold as a kit.

Once James was ready, he slapped his thigh a few times, gesturing for Fox to hop in. He did so gingerly, inching one foot in while being supremely careful not to accidentally touch any of the inputs. After a few moments he was securely in his father's strong arms, barely peeping over the controls into the desert that spread out before them. James flicked a few more switches, reaching around the cabin before looking at his son with a silly grin. He jammed down on one more button, making the glass canopy swing down over them. It clicked into place with a soft hiss. Fox held his breath, nearly shaking with anticipation.

He was going to fly!

James could sense his son's giddiness, and left him hanging in suspense for a moment longer before finally flipping the ignition. Fox gasped, clenching his eyes shut and covering his ears while smiling from ear to ear. He held in that position for a few moments, every part of his body drawn taut. After a second though, he peeked one eye open, cautiously removing his hands. It was so quiet! He'd expected the ship to roar to life, for his ears to be assaulted by a non-stop detonation as the engine churned behind them. Instead, all he heard was a stealthy hum, broken up by the occasional chime of some instrument booting up. He heard his father chuckle a little above him, still flipping a few more switches and adjusting the speaker in his ear. He settled back into his dad's safe torso, not even able to feel embarrassed because of how excited he was. He could feel his dad's glowing warmth through his jacket.

Eventually, James ceased pressing buttons and twisting dials. He took a deep breath, slowly curling his hand around the stick. Each finger slid naturally into its groove. Fox froze when he felt the ship begin to rumble ever so slightly beneath him. Outside the cockpit, dust started to kick up, clouds of dirt dancing and twirling around the wings. A pure tone rang out from the engines behind him, barely audible at first, but quickly growing into a beautiful, single note. Suddenly, the Arwing let out a single shudder before all the vibrations in the ship stopped at once. The G-Diffusers had kicked in, dampening any acceleration felt by the two pilots. With the diffusers activated, there was only one thing left to do. With as wide a smile as his son, James inched the throttle forward. The ship responded instantly, without any complaints. Outside, the sand dune they'd been standing on slowly curved away from them. Fox gasped again, unable to contain the pure elation bursting in his chest. This was it. He was flying.

He was flying!

The ground fell away from them faster and faster as his father tipped the nose up, opening the throttle. Fox was pushed back into his father's chest slightly, but the diffusers absorbed most of the acceleration, leaving only a gentle pull behind. Fox was still robbed of his breath though, not by the pressure, but by the amazing sight below him. They were soaring high above an ocean of sand, the dunes rippling on its surface. The towering mesas, normally hundreds of feet across, had been reduced to mere lily pads floating with the waves. Gusts of sand whisked across the landscape; fish darting beneath the water. The young vulpine could only stare in mute awe. He'd always revered the subtle beauty of Papetoon, but this was something else entirely. An entire ecosystem hidden in plain sight.

Back on the couch, Fox basked in memory of his first flight. Everything had changed that day. He'd known in that instant that he would be a pilot, just like his dad. He would dedicate his life to flying. To exploring the freedom afforded by the sky. The moment was etched in his memory, every single detail as clear as day. Next to him, the blue vixen began to hum a little, happy. The beautiful, joyous sound intermixed with Arwing's steady note to produce a siren song more beautiful than anything ever played in the concert halls back on Corneria.

They continued on like that for a while, his father pulling the ship into a large, sweeping curve as he admired the look of pure astonishment on his son's face. This was exactly the reaction he was hoping for. A mischievous smile teased at the edges of James' lips however, making them twitch upwards. Fox hadn't seen anything yet.

Without even a hint of warning, James yanked hard on the stick, sending the Arwing into a tight spin. Fox let out a high pitched yip before bursting out in gleeful laughter, caught totally off guard by the maneuver. They were suddenly upside down, only the harness and his father's arms holding him in place, only a layer of glass separating him from the mile high drop down to Papetoon. Despite that fact, Fox wasn't scared. On the contrary, he was absolutely thrilled, eyes and smile growing wide at the literal turn this ride had taken. After gliding like that for a few moments, his dad pulled on the stick one more time, sending the ship into a swift nosedive. Fox felt weightless for a second as the ground rushed up beneath them, suddenly much less poetic and much more intimidating. Still though, he knew his dad would keep him safe.

Sure enough, at the last possible second, James jerked back on the stick. The Arwing's nose rotated up, leveling out a few feet above the dusty floor. The ship tore along the ground, kicking up huge plumes of dust as it moved. They were hurtling over the dunes at a breakneck pace, barely skimming their low summits, wings coming within inches of clipping the towering mesas. If he'd been able to reach outside the cockpit, Fox could have easily brushed his fingers along the sand. Once again, James glanced down to take in his son's enthralled expression. He was relieved to see that Fox was enjoying flying. This was something he'd been waiting to share with his kit since the day he was born, and now, finally, his patience had been rewarded. A soft smile spread on his face. He still had one last trick up his sleeve.

Redirecting the blistering speed the ship had gained from its plummet, James brought the Arwing into a sharp climb, the ground quickly disappearing behind them. He reached out onto the dashboard and flipped another switch, issuing a soft ping in the cockpit. The engines sang louder at this, their vents glowing bright white. They started picking up speed at an alarming rate, slamming through the clouds and reemerging above them a second later. Fox was pressed firmly against his father, the massive acceleration still noticeable even after G-Diffusion. Fox shut his eyes tight, allowing the sensation to wash over him.

After a long minute of the acceleration, the pressure on his chest started to drop off, gravity slowly returning to its normal downwards pull. The young vulpine held his breath, eyes still clamped firmly shut in anticipation of whatever maneuver his dad had planned next. As it turned out though, this was James' final trick for his son. He reached a gloved hand out, tapping the kit gently on the shoulder. Fox sneaked one eye open to see what his dad was pointing at.

Both of his eyes flew wide open. He couldn't even gasp at what he saw, as every routine in his mind halted to make room for the magnificent sight in front of him. His mouth hung open, wonder written on every millimeter of his face.

They were in space.

Stars. That was the first thing Fox noticed. There were stars everywhere. Hundreds of them, thousands of them. Each one a small pinprick of twinkling light against a massive swath of black cloth. No matter which direction he turned, more stars filled his vision than there were grains of sand back on Papetoon. Obviously he'd seen them back down on the surface during many evenings spent staring at the night sky, but this... It was like he'd been thrown headfirst into an whirlpool of light. And of course, the biggest and brightest of those lights was Lyla. Fox turned to get a glimpse of it, needing to squint his eyes even through the heavily tinted glass. It let off long white spokes, as if someone had ripped a huge, perfect opening into the dark fabric of space and illuminated it with a single glowing orb.

Slowly, imperceptibly, the memory began to slow down, fading out as his recollection grew fuzzy. Eventually it came to a halt, one final image frozen in his head. Fox was overcome with a sense of ease and happiness at the final conclusion to this happy memory. He stared out over Papetoon from above the atmosphere, the yellow planet arcing away from him, ultimately hiding behind itself as it curved out of view. Stars had taken over his field of view, but were eventually washed out as Lyla rose over his home, the top of the sun peeking over the horizon, its rays spilling out into space. His dad pulled him into a hug, his warm arms bundling him in close to his chest. No matter what was out there in the universe, now laid out in its entirety before him, Fox knew those arms would protect him. The world began to fall apart piece by piece, like shards of a mirror sprinkling to the ground as details grew unclear. With one last burst of effort, Fox remembered sighing and closing his eyes, burrowing back further into the safety and love of his dad. He clung to the sensation, letting the rest of the world slip away. The stars, Lyla, Papetoon; none of it could compare to his dad's embrace.

The memory was gone, replaced again with the shifting blackness of his closed eyes as he was transported from the Arwing back onto the couch. That feeling of safety and love lingered behind though, filling his heart with warmth. He sighed, wrapping himself up in that fondness. Next to him, he heard Krystal shift in her seat a little, making a small noise.

"That was nice," she murmured. The vixen sounded almost as if she was suspended in a dream, detached from reality. With a small pang of sadness, Fox realized she was right. Being there with his dad, spending time with him, flying with him... It was nice. Simple. He relished the memories he had of them spending time together. At the same time though, he still felt that familiar mix of rage and sadness when he thought of all the memories he never got to make with his parents. The day that the letter had arrived...

Suddenly, Fox was launched into another memory. When his mind had transported him back to Papetoon, the shift between realities had been gentle and pleasant. Not this time. Now, he was thrown in unceremoniously, the sudden change in setting jarring him. The warmth in his heart was snuffed out instantly, replaced instead by a cold, dark dread as he realized where he was, and what was about to happen. Next to him, he heard the vixen inhale quietly, sounding surprised.

He was back in his room at the Academy.

 _Please, no... Not this memory._

Ice formed in his veins, sending a shiver down his spine. He tried to tear himself away from the terrible recollection, but his brain refused to switch tracks. He clenched his teeth. This was one of his worst memories. And, unfortunately, it looked like he was going to have stay along for the ride. The muscles in his arms and legs constricted as he involuntarily looked around the room, his body set on rails as the scene played out.

It wasn't a very large dormitory, but compared to the broom closets some other people at the Academy had received, it was practically a mansion. The floors were plated with pale linoleum flecked with black and blue smudges, littered with the occasional dirty sock and scrap piece of paper. The four walls around him were built up from whitewashed cinderblocks, stacked seven high. The military didn't allow much in the way of decoration, so the room was notably bare. Two beds occupied the far corners of the room. Each one had a small table near the headboard which held clocks, cups, notebooks, and a scattered array of pens and pencils. One was for him, and the other for his roommate, Falco. The only other pieces of furniture in the room were a few matching pairs of wooden desks, wardrobes, and chairs.

Fox was sitting at his desk next to Slippy. They were working together on a project for an engineering class, so the frog had a three-dimensional projection of their device pulled up. It rotated in place slowly as they adjusted a few pieces in the hologram. Behind them both, Falco was reclined on his bed. He had a toy dart gun in his hand, shooting at a small target taped up on the wall opposite him. His first shot veered hard to the left, sticking to the wall a foot off from the bullseye. His second did the opposite, somehow managing to lodge itself on the door. Next to him, Slippy snickered at his poorly placed shots. Before he could finish laughing though, a third dart whistled out, letting out an impressive pop as it smacked against the back of the frog's head.

To any outside observer, it was just a normal college day. Fox's hands balled up, his claws digging into his palms. He knew better. In the memory, his left ear twitched a little, hearing a pair of heavy boots stomping outside his room. They were barely audible and were all the way at the other end of his hall, but they still sent a bone-chilling shudder down his neck. Those were the footsteps that would change his life forever. He heard Krystal make a small whimpering noise next to him.

In his imagination, the room seemed to grow in size, looming over him. The lights started to dim, causing dark shadows to cross the room on erratic and unpredictable paths. Every fiber in his body told him to run, to get as far away from those boots as he possibly could. He wanted to scream at himself to bolt, but his mouth was held shut in the memory, his body trapped working on the project. He was talking and joking with his two friends, but their words were indiscernible, little more than a vague collection of muffled tones and inflections. His shoulders tensed, trying to do anything to stop what was about to happen, but knowing he was powerless to do so.

 _Click. Click. Click._

The footsteps continued their unstoppable march, each step sharper than the last as they approached his room. Fox's ear twitched again, and this time he looked towards the door. He and Falco lived at the very end of the hallway, so each door they passed increased the likelihood that the boots would stop at his room. After another moment, the sound halted. Fox could see the shadow of someone standing right outside the door.

 _No, stop! Please!_

Fox begged the shadow to turn around, to leave. To take its terrible news and lock it away where it could never become a reality. He wouldn't be granted such reprieve. The figure rapped on the door, each long knock echoing around his cavernous room. The sound was like nails in his ears. He grimaced at the noise, teeth gritted together. His body locked up, each of his muscles drawn rigid. Krystal let out a sharp gasp. Fox could feel her start to shake a little through the cushions.

Slowly, he was forced to stand in the memory, moving to answer the door. He tried anything to stop himself, to rip himself off the track his mind had welded him to, but nothing worked. In slow motion, he took step after step, dragging out the anticipation over what felt like hours. His bare feet pressed against the tile, and his hand stretched out, reaching towards the door handle. Fox pulled his shoulders in, digging his feet into the rug. There was no point trying to resist the inevitable outcome. He braced, hand hovering inches away from the handle.

His fingers wrapped around the metal.

A cold agony ripped through his chest. Even though he'd known it was coming, the pain still slammed up against him, making him recoil back into the couch. It felt like someone was tearing into his heart, stabbing him with brittle shards of ice. He clenched his eyes shut, his entire face contorting in an effort to bite back the pain. He began rotating the handle open, and with each centimeter it moved, the dagger in his torso twisted an equal amount. He tried to cry out to his invisible assailant for mercy. Still though, the handle continued turning mercilessly, rending his soul into rough pieces.

 _Stop!_

He heard the word called out, but it sounded distant, like it was being shouted down a long tunnel. The handle still spun.

 _Fox, stop!_

This time the cry was much closer. It made the memory ripple at the edges, the voice breaking into his imagination. Suddenly, the vixen grabbed his arm, sending a shockwave through his mind as she shook him back to reality. The memory shattered, fading away quickly as he lost focus. The vulpine blinked a few times, squinting into the bright light. He was back in the common room.

A wave of relief rolled over him, realizing he'd been snatched away from the Academy before the worst could come. He slumped back into the couch as his body was finally allowed to relax. After a second though, a curious look appeared on the vulpine's face, feeling something warm on his shoulder. He turned his head to try and find the source of the sensation. Looking over, he saw the vixen's hand clutching his arm. She looked extremely distressed, eyes huge, chest rising and falling rapidly as she panted. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but when he went to speak, Fox realized he was gasping for breath too. He could feel cold drops of sweat running down his back, and his muscles were sore from staying tensed for so long.

That memory... Whenever he was forced to relive it, this always happened. At this point, he'd seen it so many times that he knew exactly when the pain would come, and just how excruciating it would be. Unfortunately, the knowledge of when it would happen and what it would feel like didn't do much except leave him in suspense. Try as he might to shut it out, the pain had a way of slipping its serrated blades through any armor he might throw up.

Fox closed his eyes, focusing on slowing his breathing and bringing his heart down from its frantic flutter. He let his mind gear down, focusing inward. One of the few benefits of having seen that particular vision so many times was that once it was finally over, he knew how to deal with the aftermath. Inside the memory he might be trapped, but out here, he was in charge.

 _In... Out..._

After a few seconds, his breath steadied, his heart rate leveling out. Slowly, the erratic churning in his mind was replaced with a calm clearness. He was alright. His eyes opened gradually, letting the mundane details of the common room ground him in reality. Suddenly though, worry constricted around his heart again, remembering the vixen's dire expression from before. A small pang of guilt hit him. If she really could see into... into his mind, then his memory must have affected her nearly as much as it had him. His head swiveled to make sure she was alright.

Relief loosened the cords around his heart. She'd calmed down too, breathing a little less intensely and no longer shaking. A look of serious concern was still left on her face though, aimed towards himself. He couldn't help but smile a little at her worry. It seemed like he had a knack for bringing that expression around on the vixen, and as much as he didn't want to distress her, there was an odd sweetness behind seeing her so concerned for his own wellbeing. After everything tonight, it seemed like the vixen really did care about him, at least as a friend. He let his smile grow a bit, his eyes softening. He cared about her too. He lifted his head up to hers, letting her see his smile, letting her know she had nothing to worry about. The memory had passed, and he still had this beautiful reality sitting next to him. That was enough.

Seeing Fox's light expression, Krystal let out a long breath of relief, slumping back into the couch, head falling forward. After a moment she realized she was still clutching at his arm, wrinkling the fabric of his t-shirt. She returned his grin with a small blush, and gave his arm a quick squeeze before letting go. They both sat back into the couch, eyes closed, allowing the events of the last few minutes sink in. They both needed a few moments to get anchored back in reality. Fox lifted one eye open, looking around the room, trying to take in his surroundings and convince himself he was in the real world.

Unfortunately, he knew this had to be real, because he'd never allow the common room to look so rag-tag in his head. In general, Fox did his best to maintain the ship and outfit it with the best equipment possible, inside and out. The name Star Fox held a certain amount of influence in the Lylat System, so he tried to keep his ship looking the part. The common room was the primary battleground between his professionalism and Falco's apparent desire to turn the Great Fox into a flying frat house. Fox had bought a full set of expensive pieces of furniture to use in this room when they'd first revived the group. He figured this was the area where they ate, rested, and relaxed, so they deserved to have high end furnishings in here. Of course, not even a week after installing the furniture, he'd walked into the common room to find his sleek, expensive couch replaced by the ratty blue one he was sitting on now. Falco had been lounged out on top of it, legs draped over the sides, bag of chips spilled out over his chest. Many strong words were exchanged that day, but ultimately the avian came out on top, spewing expletives and chip fragments as he ardently refused to tell Fox where he'd hidden his expensive couch. Most of the other furniture had been replaced in similar fashion, with Falco kidnapping it and Fox trying very hard to remember why he was still friends with the bird. Thus, when he glanced around the room, instead of his highly polished and tastefully decorated R&R room, he saw this sorry excuse for a lounge. He smiled, just a little. He had to admit, it felt like home, no matter how many holes the couch had. Maybe Falco's interior decoration had turned changed the room from an impersonal lobby into the heart of the ship. Not that he'd ever admit that to the avian.

Unfortunately, the sense of homeliness and comfort didn't last very long. He squirmed in his seat a little, growing restless. Next to him, he could see the vixen do the same. Now that they were on stable emotional footing, one thought had clawed to the forefront of their minds. What had the other just seen? Fox turned toward the vixen, the awkward feeling in his head increasing. Only his immense curiosity managed to overpower it.

"So, uh..." the vulpine started, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck, "could you... See any of that?" He bit his lip, nervous. If she had seen those memories, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. Thankfully, the vixen shook her head a little in response.

"No, I couldn't see anything. But..." she trailed off momentarily, fidgeting with her hands. If she tried explaining this to him... how would he react? The magnitude of what she was about to tell him began to occur to the vixen. She could stare into his mind whenever she wanted, with or without his permission. Her hands clenched together, her knuckles turning a little white under the pressure. What if that scared Fox? A brief vision flashed in her head of the vulpine recoiling away from her, abandoning her on the couch out of fear. Turning steely and unresponsive to her, afraid. She gulped once, a cold panic gripping her heart at the terrifying notion. If she drove Fox away... She'd have nothing left. No one. The dread tightened its hold, trying to strangle her.

 _No. He won't react like that._

The small thought was just a whisper in the back of her head, but it was enough to rattle the fearful chains that had ensnared her. They started to come loose, dropping off and leaving her to bask in how content she felt near the vulpine. She trusted Fox. Looking up again, she couldn't help but get caught in his emerald eyes. They were so caring. So trusting. She was sure her fear had written itself on her face, but it melted away under his affectionate gaze. The clamp in her chest unwound. Fox wouldn't abandon her, just like she wouldn't abandon him. If the vulpine could open up about his guilt, then she could trust him with this. She wanted to be by his side, for him to love everything about her. Even this.

She nodded once to herself, making a small noise of determination. "But, I could... feel it," she finished, knowing she'd just crossed the point of no return. She glanced over at him quickly, and was met with his confused expression. Her mouth pulled to one side, as she reached to explain. No point in trying to hide now. "During your first memory, I tapped into your mind. It's not hard, just to reach out and find somebody nearby like that. But, whatever you were remembering... It was so warm. You were practically glowing. And, I could feel that." Her ears burned a little, remembering how bright and welcoming he'd felt during that memory. Fox's mind always seemed particularly inviting to her telepathy, but during that memory, he'd felt like a bonfire. "Whenever someone's happy, their mind warms up. It's almost like I can feel the heat rolling off their consciousness." She let out a strained laugh, recognizing the absurdity of those last sentences. "I realize how strange that must sound." The vixen bit her lip, letting her words sink in for a moment. She monitored the vulpine's reaction with laser-focused eyes.

 _Please, please understand, Fox..._

He sat still for a while, deep in thought. Every passing second was torturous for the vixen, left in a crippling uncertainty that made her stomach churn. His eyebrows rose after a second, lips turning up at the edges. It looked like a clever thought had just occurred to him. Some of the tension fled her body when he didn't immediately reject her presence, but it was just as quickly replaced with a new stress. What was he thinking? ...Was this a good reaction? He shut his eyes quickly before the vixen had a chance to speak, brow furrowed together as he concentrated.

Slowly, a vision built up in his head. After a short burst of focus, he had the image in place; his memory of Krystal when they had spoken earlier that day. He felt a familiar wave of happiness hit him, remembering the vivacity he'd finally seen spark in her eyes in that moment. He'd been waiting to see it for weeks, and when it had finally appeared this morning, he'd been ecstatic. His heart swelled instantly at the recollection. Next to him, he heard the vixen sigh, sounding pleased. He opened his eyes, his imagined blue fox replaced by the real thing. She laughed lightly, a look of relief clear in her expression. "Whatever that thought was," she said, giving him a grateful smile, "it felt very hot." A little color rushed to his face at the vixen's entirely too accurate choice of words, as she unknowingly referenced herself. If she really could look into his thoughts like that, he needed to be careful to keep his mind from wandering too far while the vixen was nearby.

He had to admit, it was an incredibly strange concept, someone being able to know exactly how he felt at any given time. A little intimidating too, maybe. For some reason though, it didn't make him nervous, coming from Krystal. His thoughts flashed back to the relief he'd felt after asking for her help, both in physically getting dragged up to the sick bay and in mentally pushing through his guilt. Relying on her... It didn't scare him like it did with most people. He wanted her to know everything about him, and if she could see into directly into his mind... Well, all the better.

"What was _not_ hot," she continued, pulling him out of his thoughts, "was your second memory." She shivered a little out of instinct. He'd switched from feeling like a furnace to a blizzard in an instant when that second memory had started. Whatever he'd been remembering, it had been powerful. Terrifying. There'd been so much pain, so much cold, so much darkness pounding in his head... She'd had no choice but to try and shake him free of his own imagination. Thankfully she'd managed to snap him out of it before it could get any worse.

She elaborated some more, trying to shake off the icy feeling. "Whenever people think sad thoughts, their minds go cold and dark. I can feel that too." She tapped her temple, smirking a little at Fox. "So, when you told me that you were doing fine while your mind felt like a meat locker..." she arched an eyebrow, playfully scolding him, "I could tell something was wrong."

Fox let out a short, embarrassed laugh, looking off to the side. "I didn't realize you could read me so easily."

She gave him another crooked grin, twirling a strand of hair around one finger. "Like a book. So, no more trying to hide things from me."

He looked back up, their sights tangling together. She looked relieved to have all that off her chest and to finally have had a chance to explain herself to him. She yawned once, the lean muscles in her arms constricting as she bent backwards. When she came back down, she looked over at the vulpine, returning his gaze with a soft smile. She looked tired, her eyelids drooping ever so slightly, but she seemed happy to be here, talking to him. He knew he looked and felt the same, so he couldn't say anything to her about getting some rest. Especially because this was so nice. Krystal was more than just gorgeous, she was interesting and fun and... And talking to her just came naturally. He knew that him and the vixen could spend days uninterrupted, talking just like this, and he'd hardly notice.

Something still nagged at the back of his mind though. He shifted around in his seat, unsure whether he should push his luck and bring it up or just leave it alone. Her story didn't quite add up. She wouldn't lie to him, he was sure of that. But, there had to be something she was leaving out. He frowned, shaking his head once. Once again, his need to know more got the best of him.

"There's something I still don't understand," he said. She looked a little puzzled, waiting for him to explain. "I mean... Before, I could feel your mind right next to mine. You could see the memories in my head, and I could see yours too." His brow furrowed, trying to figure it out. "Why can't you now? I mean, you could before... Shouldn't you have been able to see all of that for yourself?" She bit her lip, looking a little worried. His eyes widened a little. Had he pushed too hard? "I-it's ok if you don't want to answer, I get it."

"No, no, it's fine, I promise." The vixen waved off his concern with one hand and a light look. She couldn't help it when a small grin made the corners of her mouth turn upwards. "It's just... If I didn't sound odd before, I'm going to now." She looked up at him, trying to understand what he was thinking. He looked hopeful. Understanding. Very, very curious. She giggled a little bit as he tried to disguise his obvious inquisitiveness. He'd been receptive of everything so far, so this would be fine too, right? And besides... She wanted him to know everything. "So, prepare yourself," she finished, a playfulness glinting in her eye.

He smiled back at her. He knew he was being nosy, but after having literally been inside the head of the girl of his dreams a few weeks ago, and having no explanation for all that time, it was hard to pretend like he wasn't maddeningly curious. Besides, it meant he got to hear her lovely voice for that much longer. "Lay it on me," he said, reclining back against the armrest. He smirked a little, gesturing for her to do her worst. "I guarantee nothing you say can surprise me."

Krystal giggled a little at his cocky posture. "We'll see about that, Foxy." She settled back into the couch too, crossing her legs on top of the rickety coffee table a foot in front of her. She briefly considered resting them up on Fox's notably empty lap, but ultimately refrained, deciding it was best to keep him lucid and from locking up again. Considering his previous two reactions to her touch, she figured a third might actually send him into cardiac arrest. A small flame of doubt flared up in the back of her mind, worried about why he was so resistant to her physical affection, but she extinguished that spark before it could turn into a wildfire. That was an issue she could sort out later. At the moment though, his expectant expression reminded her that she owed him an explanation. She opened her mouth, trying to find the right words.

"Right now, my... abilities," she started, picking the word after being unable to come up with anything less exotic. "They're still not fully developed. Like, I can only sense the warmth or coldness in your mind depending on whether your thoughts are positive or negative. Which is nice, but not exactly the most... precise." She added the last part with a small laugh, distinctly aware of how she'd mistaken his guilt for fear only an hour ago. "With practice though, they'll get stronger. Eventually, I'll be able to do things like the memory sharing whenever I want." She glanced over at Fox, trying to see if this was making any sense. He nodded slowly, but still had a puzzled look on his face, brow knitted together. Which was fair, she realized. After all, she still hasn't answered his question; how had she been able to do all of that memory sharing before?

"So," he started, beginning to piece the story together, "you mean that you can't do stuff like that whenever you want?"

She nodded once, making a short sound of confirmation. "Right." She glanced back up at the vulpine. He still looked wildly lost, clearly needing more than just a single word in response. She smiled a little at his expression, trying to imagine how foreign all this must sound. "You remember from before, how I'd started glowing slightly? How I shut my eyes and had to concentrate for a few seconds?" Fox nodded, distinctly recalling the sight of the beautiful vixen luminescing in the remnants of her crystal prison. She'd looked so determined then, like an unstoppable force of nature. Supernatural, almost. "Every once in a while, when I'm under extreme stress or danger, I can focus for a few seconds, and start channeling." Fox's mind flitted back to Cerinia, to how down to the wire their escape had been. There had certainly been no lack of danger then. "When I do, something... Snaps in my mind temporarily, for lack of a better word. It's a sort of defense mechanism. It unlocks all sorts of powers I won't normally be able to use for a while." The confusion began vanishing from Fox's face, understanding where she was going with this.

"So, if you were to focus again for a little, and I happened to have another band of pirates laying around..." Fox started, making the vixen giggle slightly, "we could do the memory sharing again?" He looked over at her expectantly, hoping he'd made the right jump in logic. He slumped back over the armrest when she gave him a small nod, confirming his guess. He reclined there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling as he processed everything the vixen had told him. A long breath escaped his lips, hardly able to believe it all. It seemed impossible, surpassing even the most advanced technology thought up back on Corneria. And yet, he knew it was real. He'd seen it and felt it for himself firsthand. After a few long seconds of thought, he spoke again, slowly.

"So... Does that mean you're a..." he paused on the last word, still unable to comprehend the idea his brain was presenting him. He had to hear it from the vixen's mouth.

Krystal smiled at the vulpine's hesitant face. She knew she should be afraid of what she was about to say, of how he might react, but being here, next to Fox... Nothing could make her doubt herself.

"A telepath, yes." As the words rolled of her tongue, she expected herself to immediately freeze in fear, or for a swarm of anxiety to make her regret them instantly. But... She didn't. And she knew she never would. The vulpine started to chuckle a little, holding his head in one hand while still looking up to the ceiling. He groaned, still with a wide grin on his face, laughter breaking through the noise every few seconds. His mind grew warm again, practically beckoning for her. All tension faded out of her body at his pleasant, resigned response, feeling the magnetic pull towards him once again. This was the reaction she wanted. She wrapped herself up in the happiness the vulpine was projecting, both outwardly from his relaxed posture and inwardly from his sharp mind. He wasn't going to abandon her. He trusted her.

After a second, the vulpine peeped one eye back open, lifting his head slightly to glance at her. "You're something else, Krystal," he said through glowing eyes. "I mean, I've seen it - Hell, I've felt it, and I still hardly believe you." He saw her shrug through his open eye, trying to play it off like her telepathy was nothing special. He rolled his eyes, her nonchalance making his laughter return. He had to admit, this was... A lot to take in. In his eyes though, it just made the gorgeous, playful, vivacious vixen that much more incredible. For the most part, Fox figured people didn't care about his problems, and that asking for help with them just handed out an opportunity to say no. Rejection only came when he asked for assistance. He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

She was different though. For some reason, she did care. He could ask her to haul him up to the medical bay, or ask her to talk his guilt away, and she would. It was probably just because she tolerated it, or because she felt like she owed him in some way, and once her debt was repaid, she would move on. His ears drooped at the corners, self-doubt draining a little of the life from his posture. Surely that was the reason she was still here with him. Just a sense of duty.

But... but maybe it was more than that. A small fountain of hope sprang up inside him, combatting the doubt that has gripped him. She'd gone to such incredible lengths for him tonight, even to the point of risking her life to save his. Maybe that meant something. Maybe she wanted to help him.

 _Maybe... maybe she won't abandon me._

He looked up at her at that thought, eyes automatically snapping into hers. There, he saw that familiar look of happiness, that sneaky hint of playfulness, that blossoming life that she'd regained that same day. All of it seemed to call out to him, robbing him of reason as he was dumbstruck by her mere presence. His worries slipped away under her gaze, his thoughts absorbed by the blue fox.

Every day for the past two weeks, he'd tried to tell himself that this was just infatuation, that this feeling would pass. That Krystal was nice and pretty, but it could never work. That once she opened up and they actually, finally talked, his emotions would evaporate. Yet, here he was, having a real, meaningful, personal conversation with the vixen. And with every sentence they exchanged, with every one of her sly smiles or sparkling laughs, the fire in his heart only burned that much hotter. This wasn't some transient interest. He knew this passion wouldn't dissipate. Her silky blue fur filled his vision, her beautiful accent sang in his ears, her delicate scent danced across his nose, and the feeling of her soft features was still imprinted on his chest. This was real. Neither of them would desert the other.

 _I'm in love with her; that crazy, stunning, telepathic vixen._

 _/_

A/N: ... ... ... *pops out of mountain of fluff* Well, hello again! So, yeah, this might be another kinda floofy chapter, but so what, it was really fun to write. This chapter actually came a heck of a lot easier than the previous two for some reason. Maybe it's just because I never really left romance mode after chapter 3. But yes, now that our two foxes are thoroughly enamored of each other, it's time for this story to get on the road! Or rather, get off the road in this case, and finally arrive at Corneria. So, brace yourself for lots of plot and new characters and exposition in the next few chapters. Unfortunately, that means I'll have to be working out a few kinks and holes probably as I write, so the next few might be a bit slower to get up. I promise, it's just because I care about this story and want to give you guys the best plot possible! I really do hope you're enjoying it so far, I know that I am.

Anyway, I have exactly zero words written for chapter 5 right now, so I'll be starting from scratch on that... Later today, probably. No rest for the weary. Before anything else, huge shout out to Sanitarium for his help with everything. You're the best! Thanks to everyone else who's dropping favs, follows and reviews on this too. Every little piece of feedback is helpful.

Also, I've been meaning to ask everyone reading, I have a few action scene one-shots planned out that serve as a sort of prequel to this story. I was thinking about taking a short break from writing this while I iron out all the plot details, and instead work on writing one of those short pieces. What would you guys think about that? It'd be a change of pace from all my fluff lately, haha.

That about wraps this up though. Thanks for everyone's continued support! It means a lot that I seem to have tricked you people into thinking I know the first thing about writing. Stay tuned for either Chapter 5 or that one-shot I mentioned!


	5. Act I: Chapter 5 Harbor

Chapter 5 | Harbor

 _"You ready?"_

 _"..."_

 _"Krystal?"_

 _"Yes. Yes, I'm ready."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"I think so."_

 _"...Alright."_

Was this a dream? Was this all just some grand hallucination? Maybe he'd taken a hit to the head back on Cerinia, and now he was passed out in the dirt somewhere, transported to a world entirely inside his own imagination. Given how thoroughly his life had been flipped on its head in the last few days, Fox had a hard time believing that explanation wasn't correct. He would've pinched himself again to try and wake up from his trance, but each time he'd done it before, he'd stayed firmly planted in this reality. And with each little nip at his skin, his hope grew that maybe this wasn't just a vivid fantasy.

The past week aboard the Great Fox had been incredible, almost surreal. To the point that it seemed impossible for all of it to be an actuality. He expected the world to shatter around him at any moment in the culmination of some cruel, cosmic trick, but for some reason, it never did. It all seemed to good to be true. And there was a single, beautiful reason for that: Krystal. With every minute he spent next to the vixen, his confidence that she was special grew. The sound of her name alone made his heart skip, made his pupils dilate, made his breath catch. Getting a glimpse of her sly smile or hearing her light voice meant a pulse of electricity racing through his body. The feelings churning in his chest went deeper than surface level infatuation though. Whenever she was nearby... It was like the entire world around him faded away, leaving only her sharp and in contrast in his vision. Like the rest of the universe was bleached of color, leaving only her brilliant blue figure to dance in his eyes. The vixen had nearly caught him gawking on more than one occasion, but each close call was worth it.

If nothing else, over the past several days, the two of them had grown into incredibly close friends. At this point, they spent almost every waking hour together, whether that meant Krystal shadowed him as he worked on the bridge, or he tagged along when she exercised in the gym. Recently, the vixen had invited him to meditate with her during the afternoons. At first he'd been skeptical, but eventually she'd managed to convince him to give it a shot. Part of it was a simple desire to spend as much time as possible with the blue fox. But if he was being truthful, it was mostly that she'd asked while wearing a rather... stimulating, pair of workout pants that he'd leant her when she first boarded. The fabric hugged her extraordinary hips and endlessly long legs perfectly, framing her curves in the most unfairly fantastic way. He'd been reduced to a stammering mess the first time she'd walked up to him in them, which only made her giggle. Which, in turn, only made him more flustered. He'd probably have agreed to jump out the airlock if she'd asked while wearing them. Regardless, after their first meditation session, he'd instantly been hooked. At least, he had once he'd finally been able to rip his eyes away from her lower half for long enough to calm down and focus. At first he wasn't sure what he was waiting for, and felt a little foolish sitting there, fidgeting anxiously. As he soaked in the silence and concentrated harder though, he'd felt it; the delicate sensation of the vixen's mind pressing up against his. It was exactly like he'd remembered it back on Cerinia, albeit much fainter than before. Light as it might have been though, when he'd finally felt that familiar pressure, he'd had to fight back the urge to gasp and break focus. It was deep and personal, that feeling of having the vixen occupy his head alongside him. He adored it.

He'd meditated with her every opportunity he got after that, yearning for that feeling of closeness with Krystal. In reality though, he didn't need telepathy to feel connected with her. They'd already made so many vibrant memories together just like that one over the course of the week. Fox promised himself he'd never let a single one slip from his mind.

 _He reached one hand up to the console, tapping on a few blinking buttons. They let off a soft chime with each touch of his fingers, forming a quiet song._

Not every minute of their time together had been so blissful, however. He still saw a dull glaze pass over her oceanic eyes every so often, clearly recalling the home she'd been forced from just a month before. The loss worked its way into her posture in those moments, doubling her over slightly, making her hands clench. He tried his best to comfort her when he saw the vixen sink back into that abyss, but he knew no matter what he said, her wound would never totally heal. His hadn't. One night in particular still sent a shudder through him, making his heart ache. It had been late at night, and sleep had eluded him. After staring out at the stars for a few minutes, he'd risen out of bed, deciding to take a lap around the ship in an effort to shake off the insomnia. Maybe scare Falco while he was at it, who was almost assuredly snoozing up in the bridge as he was supposed to keep vigil. When he stepped out of his room though, a light sound made his ears twitch. His head swiveled, trying to pinpoint the noise. After a second, he realized it was coming from down the hall, towards Krystal's room. That was when the first pang of fear struck. He jogged towards her quarters, panic making his stomach knot up. When he finally came to a stop in front of her room, he realized his worry was justified.

She was sobbing.

Without thinking, he threw the door open, its heavy clang resonating against the walls as he rushed in to make sure the vixen was alright. When he rounded the corner, he nearly gasped. She was balled up in her bed, lying on her side, knees pulled in tight against her chest. Her fists were clutching at the sheets, claws digging into the mattress. Every muscle in her body was drawn stiff, her figure twitching as weeping wracked her frame. He leapt to her side out of instinct, placing himself in front of her. From that angle, he managed to get a glimpse of her face. Tears stained her cheeks, matting her fur and forming dark pools on the cloth below her. She looked up at him with huge, red eyes. He let out a small whimper, ears folding back when he looked deeper into them. There was so much agony in them, more pain than anyone should have to endure in an entire lifetime. The spark that usually glimmered in her expression had been smothered out. In its place was a voided emptiness that was on the verge of consuming her, of destroying her. She stared up at him with that torturous look for a brief second. She was crying out to him for help, knowing that the hurt would break her without someone to help alleviate it.

So, Fox did the first thing he could think of. He lifted her into his chest, wrapping one arm around her while placing a gentle hand on the back of her head. He pulled her into a close embrace, feeling her cold, shaking form push up against his. His head came to a rest on her shoulder, letting his muzzle stop by her temple. He hugged her tighter, trying to squeeze out whatever evil would dare hurt her, trying to let her know that she wasn't alone. Gentle whispers poured out of his mouth and into her ear, telling her she was going to be alright, shushing her rough gasps for breath. She shivered against him, nose buried in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to break down next to her, to let his tears out too at how much he hurt for her, but he had to be strong. His hand stroked the back of her head, running her soft, dark hair through his fingers. Instinctively, he did something that he knew brought her joy; he let his mind focus on a happy memory. The playful looks she tossed across the bridge, the way her tail flicked behind her when he greeted her in the morning, all of it welled up in his memory. He let warmth fill his mind, hoping desperately her telepathy would pick up on it, would show her how happy he was to be here next to her, no matter how much pain she was in. He would fight off the blizzard in her mind with the firestorm she inspired in his.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, holding each other as her cries rang through the room. Frustration boiled under his skin, wanting so badly to be able to take her pain away, but knowing she'd be forced to live with it for the rest of her life no matter how he tried to help. He felt weak. Useless. All he could do was give her his wholehearted support when it proved to be too much. So, that's what he did. And eventually, the vixen's tears slowed, her breathing growing less erratic. Her body loosened enough for her to return his embrace, wrapping her arms tight around his torso. He could feel her tears soak into his shirt, but he didn't mind. In that moment, she was all that mattered.

 _He reached his other hand up, grabbing hold of a large lever on the panel. He threw it back, producing a loud clunk in the process._

Aside from that one relapse though, Fox could tell she was recovering, slowly. She left her room more often these days, spending time with him and the rest of the crew. She'd started eating again, even coming into the common room to have lunch and dinner with him, Falco, and Slippy. She was quiet during their first meals together, but now she was just another part of the group, laughing and joking with the rest of them over the table. He knew how easy it was to slip back into that feeling of total loneliness though, so he always went out of his way to give her a little smile, or purposefully try to recall a pleasant memory around her. ...Well, maybe that was making it sound more altruistic than it actually was. Really, he had a hard time _not_ smiling when he was around the blue fox. And to be fair, his body and mind always lit up while she was in view.

Regardless, he was ecstatic at how well she was getting along with the other two on the ship. She seemed to think Slippy's quirks were more cute than anything else, and enjoyed observing all of his technical work around the ship. And, somewhat surprisingly, Krystal turned out to have at least as sharp a tongue as Falco, sometimes putting the bird to shame in their verbal sparring matches. It was fascinating, watching Falco get beat out at the game he'd been the uncontested master of since the Academy. He'd taken it easy on her at first, but Fox could tell he had to go no-holds-barred these days just to keep up with her sarcastic symphonies. Fox couldn't help but crack a grin at the dinner table when the two started going at it, 'flightless bird' this and 'glorified mood ring' that. Despite their arguments though, he could tell Falco genuinely did enjoy the vixen's company, regardless of his claims to the otherwise. At the very least, between saving their lives in the reactor and going toe-to-toe with him in their battle of words, she'd earned his grumbly respect.

She'd solidified her place in their little circle one day when they were attempting to repair the door that had been blown apart during the pirate raid. He and Falco were trying to hold a massive support in place while Slippy welded it in place. Both of them were grimacing and straining, legs beginning to buckle under the weight of the steel beam. There was no way they'd have been able to keep it in the air for much longer. Just when Fox was sure he was going to drop the strut directly on top of the three of them however, the bar seemed to lighten significantly, as if someone had hollowed it out. Both he and the bird let out a relieved sigh, their heads hanging down a little as their muscles could finally relax. They didn't bother questioning why their task had suddenly grown easier yet, but they'd soon get their answer regardless. Both of their eyes flicked back up when someone laughed to their right. It was the blue and white vixen, grin on her face and arms raised above her head as she helped keep the beam afloat. She'd stayed there with them during the rest of the installation, assisting until the door was finally reinstalled. The toast that night at dinner had resoundingly gone to the newcomer in their midst.

 _A hiss of oxygen rushed out around them as the airlock cycled. White plumes of gas buffeted his hair, making it pull to one side._

As fantastically as Krystal was getting along with the other two though, the vixen always seemed to pay him... special attention. Alluringly special attention. Just when he thought he'd finally be able to keep his cool and act like a normal person around her, the blue beauty always seemed to catch him off guard and melt him into an orange puddle of fluster. He'd lost track of all the times he'd been having a lighthearted conversation with her, only to be reduced into incoherency by her hand brushing into his for a fleeting moment, or by her tail wrapping around his so quickly he couldn't even respond before she was already giggling and strolling away.

In the back of his mind, he had to remind himself over and over again that none of it meant what he wanted it to mean, that there were a million more likely explanations for her behavior than the one his brain cried out for. Maybe this was just normal conduct for a Cerinian, or maybe she was just a more physically affectionate person than he was accustomed to. He wanted desperately to believe that she was being so forward because she was as in love with him as he was with her, but... But that was impossible. The stunning, outgoing, sharp, perfect vixen was farther out of his league than Cerinia had been from Lylat. She had no reason to ever think twice about him. And besides, even if she'd had the smallest spark of interest in him at any point, he was sure he'd crushed it by now with his exasperating tendency to lock up underneath her. He wanted so badly to push back, to try and show her how he felt, but the risk of being wrong, of scaring Krystal out of his life permanently was more than he could stomach.

Just the other day, he and the vixen had been training together in the gym when she'd managed to send him farther off the deep end than ever before. He'd been working on his hand-to-hand combat when out of the blue, she had offered to teach him the basics of fighting with a staff. She'd seemed innocent enough while asking, so he'd eagerly accepted, excited by the prospect of doing anything with her. This proved to be a mistake. As soon as he'd nodded his head, the smallest devious sparkle played in her eyes. Cold beads of sweat formed on his back after noticing it, his breathing growing a little faster. She was up to something, and the vulpine was positive he'd end up both loving and hating whatever she had in mind, as he had with every other one of her schemes.

Fox still wasn't sure how he'd managed to make it through that session without either fainting and collapsing to the floor, or snapping and yanking her into the deepest, most passionate kiss he could imagine. Her hands had constantly been caressing his body, supposedly correcting his form or helping him stretch out. She always seemed to linger behind on him just a second longer than he expected though, making his thoughts short out under her sensuous pressure. Her touch was soft and gentle as she wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders from behind, pressing her chest into his back in an attempt to loosen his exceptionally tense muscles. Her fingers were playful and exploratory as she grabbed his leg dizzyingly close to the hips, trying to bend his knee into position. After just the first few minutes, she'd already sent his sanity into a dire tailspin at her incendiary touch, mind and body burning hot with excitement and embarrassment. By the end of their session, he'd been rendered entirely nonsensical, barely able to stammer out a proper thank you for helping him train. She'd just laughed a little in response, slipping him another caring, sneaky glance before spinning on her heel and strutting out of the gym. Her tail had flicked across his chest one last time as she left.

 _The hatch swung open with a metallic groan. It'd been quiet inside the airlock, but now their ears were assaulted with the sounds of churning engines and yelling workers. Sunlight cascaded into the small room, making them squint._

Beyond the magnetic pull he felt towards her though, beyond all the pain and the joy, he could say without hesitation that Krystal was special to him. That somehow, the strangely colored fox who loved blueberries, was deadly with a staff, had the cutest sneeze, spoke with the most enticing accent, and was somehow gorgeous under any light, was someone he connected with on a deeper level, on a more sensitive, personal level. They'd spent night after night together in the common room, talking to each other until they simply couldn't stay conscious anymore, and passed out from exhaustion. Falco'd had a field day recently, finding rude and jarring ways to wake the two foxes up whenever he found them sleeping next to each other on his ratty blue couch. Regardless, during their late nights together, they'd been ravenous to learn as much about the other as they possibly could; their likes, dislikes, quirks, all of it. And with every little speck of information he took in about Krystal, the fuller a person she seemed in his eyes. She wasn't just some phantom floating in his head, some illusion meant to lure him into a trap. She was real. Incredible. Somehow, on his mission to the middle of nowhere gone horribly wrong, he'd found the blue fox of his dreams. Nobody had ever seemed so important to him before, never had fate seemed to call so clearly through to him before. It was obvious that she had changed his life forever, that she was pivotal to his entire future. There was just one problem.

Today, she would leave him.

 _They stepped out onto the catwalk together. For Krystal, it was a place beyond her wildest dreams. For Fox, it was his second home. This was Corneria._

/

Temporarily blind at the hands of Lyla's intense light, Krystal could only take in her surroundings through her other senses. Even without her vision though, the sounds that filled her ears, the scents that toyed with her nose, the emotions and sensations that surrounded her mind; those alone were almost enough to overpower her. Powerful machinery whirred and roared in the distance. Dozens of voices called out to each other around her, their commands and requests full of unfamiliar and technical terminology. The definite smell of fuel permeated the air, but it was thin enough that she could still pick up Fox's familiar, comforting fragrance of cinnamon through it. The breeze was light and chilled, making her shiver once. Most noticeably, all around her the vixen could sense hundreds of life forces. Each one had its own distinct feeling in her mind, putting off a unique bundling of heat and cold. Above them all though was the vulpine's blazing furnace of thoughts, and she chose to focus on that instead of the staggering sea of other feelings around her.

After a short minute of shielding their eyes from the intense light, eventually the two foxes acclimated to the outdoor environment. Slowly, the pair's eyelids fluttered back open. Fox grinned at the familiar hustle and bustle that surrounded him, taking comfort in the usual rush that came with docking the _Great Fox_. Krystal's reaction was more animated. She gasped at the magical scene that had been laid out before her. Her hand shot out, clutching onto the vulpine's arm for stability as she stumbled backwards a few inches, her mouth hanging open a little in disbelief. A pulse of adrenaline shot through her core, making her muscles steel, robbing her of words. Fox had told her that Corneria prided itself on its technological advancement, but this... this was in a league all of its own. It was as if the gods themselves had stretched a hand down to the planet, constructing a playground that pushed the limits of even their imaginations.

The vixen opened her eyes to find herself in a vast gymnasium of steel beams, neon lights, and monolithic spans of white cement. She could tell they were in some kind of space port, but the sheer scale of the place was mind boggling - leaps and bounds larger than even the largest city she'd ever visited. Hundreds of towering, twisting, metallic spires dotted the complex. Blinking lights raced up their sculpted facades. Tarmac coated the ground for miles in each direction, intricate white and yellow lines curving across its surface. She couldn't make heads or tails of the abstract painting, but clearly the armada of small cars driving on top of it could. They dashed back and forth between the docked ships and the rows of hangars that bordered the area. Some of the buildings were miniscule, barely big enough to hold a single small, personal craft, while others were truly gargantuan, designed to house a hundred _Great Foxes_ without breaking a sweat.

What stole her breath wasn't on the ground though. It was in the air. Thousands of spacecraft were soaring above her, their engines revving up or ramping down as they prepared for departure or arrival, vents glowing bright red and white. A tight formation of nimble fighter jets flashed through the space in the time it took her to blink, the only indication that they'd even been there the white contrails they left behind. On the other end of the spectrum, a few colossal masses of titanium and carbon rumbled over her, giant starships that made the ground vibrate below her ever so slightly. There were so many ships of entirely different shapes and sizes coming and going; lumbering zeppelins filled to the brim with buoyant gas, fragile gyrocopters with a single rider inside, and battleships reminiscent of the one she'd been inside for the past month.

Krystal was stunned into silence. Her breathing grew shallow and her grasp around Fox's arm tightened, making him simultaneously wince and grin at her reaction. She looked to say anything, but couldn't find the words to describe the sheer shock that had frozen her in place. No matter how much she had braced, nothing could have prepared her for the awe-inspiring sight before her. A small flare of fear sprang up in the back of her mind in response to all of it, making her instinctively shrink back ever so slightly towards the airlock. This... this was overwhelming. Intimidating. Fox bit his lip, panicking at her initial reaction.

But... her fascination eventually overpowered the hesitation that had swarmed her thinking at first. After a long, mute moment spent staring at her surroundings, her body relaxed an imperceptible amount. She took a cautious step forward, towards the unfamiliar sights and sounds laid out before her, curiosity beginning to win the war raging in her head. Fox studied her shocked expression with a laser-like focus, watching for even the slightest change in her disposition. And eventually, he saw it. Slowly, gradually, a look of wonder blossomed on her face. Her eyes grew huge with excitement, her lips rising into a disbelieving, amazed smile. A small laugh escaped her mouth, unable to believe what she was seeing. She never would've thought that a place like this could exist, not even in the minds of the most ambitious architects and engineers. And yet, here it was. It was undeniably scary and unfamiliar and unknown, sure. But... it was also new and miraculous and impossible. Even if she'd never witnessed anything remotely like this in her entire life, that didn't mean she had to be afraid. And besides, Fox was still right by her side. She turned her head to look at him, to take in his warm smile and soft, green eyes. To take in a more magical sight than even the most powerful of the ships around her. He would keep her safe. Just like she'd keep him safe.

Gingerly, the vulpine lifted a hand up. He hesitated for a second, but ultimately placed it carefully over hers where she still gripped his arm, giving it a small squeeze. He looked back at her, relief clear in his expression that she was able to process her new environment.

"Well... This is the Harbor," he said gently, gesturing around him. She followed his hand, scanning the horizon once more to confirm she wasn't hallucinating. Everything stayed firmly rooted in reality. Maybe this fantastical place existed after all. "Sort of neat, right?"

The vixen let out another short breath, amused, astounded. "I've - I've seen better," she managed, giving the vulpine her own weak smile.

He chuckled at her comment, beaming. "Oh, is that so?" She nodded once in response, but her twitching nose and tight clasp around his arm ruined any credibility the gesture might have held. He couldn't help but give her a sideways smile. "Well in that case," he started, voice growing a little quieter, "I hope you still think our humble little space pier is as nice as I do." He looked back over at her again with an earnest expression, ears starting to burn slightly under the vixen's hold.

She nodded again, clearly still parsing everything as her eyes darted across the landscape. "I... I do. This is... extraordinary."

Some of the tension drained out of his body at her words. He'd been so worried about this; that she would simply reject all of it and run back for the airlock. That his world would prove too much for her. By some miracle though, here she was, as enthralled with it as he'd been during his first trip to the Harbor. Admittedly, she still looked lightheaded enough to be carried away in the breeze, but that was understandable. Even he'd needed to lean on a nearby wall for support the first time he'd visited this particular port, and he'd seen pictures of it his entire life growing up.

He opened his mouth again to speak some words of reassurance to the vixen, but was cut short by a high-pitched voice rising above the background yelling. Both he and Krystal looked down, scanning the ground below them in an attempt to pinpoint the origin of the noise. Eventually Fox found the person calling out; a grey rabbit in a standard yellow and blue uniform. She was jumping up and down while waving at him, trying to catch his attention. His eyes lit up when he recognized the worker.

"Lily!" He waved back at the rabbit, holding his other hand up to his mouth to amplify his voice. Seeing that she'd finally flagged him down, she gave him two thumbs up before beckoning for him to come down from the catwalk and talk to her. He nodded his head once in response, letting her know he'd be there soon.

His eyes were soon brought back up by Krystal's voice. He peeked over at her, taking in her curious expression. "Who was that?" the vixen asked, gesturing back down at the rabbit.

"Oh!" Fox started, a little embarrassed that he'd left her in the dark. "She's the engineer that leads repairing the _Great Fox_ while we're docked. We served in the military together for a while, before I became a mercenary. Her name is Lily, and..." Fox trailed off, laughing a little when he noticed the bunny tapping her foot and crossing her arms, pretending to be impatient. "She's a bit of a character. She probably just needs me to sign a few papers so she can start re-outfitting the ship."

Krystal made a small, affirming noise in response, relaxing ever so slightly once she realized that Lily meant no harm. He could tell that she was getting used to her new surroundings bit by bit, seeing her posture slowly straighten up, and her eyes grow less meek and more curious. Still though, when he moved towards the elevator that went to the ground level, he heard the vixen's breath catch, and she grabbed him by the arm again. Looking back at her, he could see panic flaring in her expression.

"W-wait, Fox," she stuttered, sounding like she was on the verge of gasping. "Don't leave me alone up here. Please." She looked at him with pleading eyes, genuinely afraid of being abandoned in such an overwhelming environment. A little guilt cut through his mind, feeling terrible that the simple thought of being on her own was enough to nearly send her over the edge. He couldn't blame her either; being thrust onto an entire planet of people and technology she didn't know or understand... Fox knew she was brave, she'd already proved that much, but there was only so much a person could take before they needed help. He gave her another soft smile, trying to show her that she'd never have to worry about anything as long as he was nearby. He'd always give her his help.

"I'd never leave you behind," he said a little more quietly, the words forcing a small blush onto his face. He shuffled his feet slightly before continuing. "Here, come down with me. I'm sure Lily wants to meet you." He knew it wasn't a perfect solution, but at least it meant Krystal could stay nearby. She gulped once, glancing back down at the cacophony of people and vehicles racing down below. After a second though, she nodded. She could handle this. It was a better alternative to staying up here by herself, at least.

She nodded again quickly, tightening the vice she had on Fox's arm. The vixen took a deep breath, stepping over with him onto the elevator. She lowered her voice to a whisper, making it steely. "Okay. Let's go."

Fox studied her for a moment as she stood next to him, and couldn't help but smile at her resolved expression. Admiration welled up in his chest, amazed by just how resilient she was. How determined she was to adjust to his world.

He shook his head after a second though, returning to the world in front of him. He knew full well he could spend the next year enumerating all the reasons Krystal was amazing, but he had other work to get done first. He reached out the arm that the vixen wasn't holding onto and flipped a switch set into the side of the elevator cage. After a moment, the box began rumbling downwards. Krystal shivered a little at the movement, one of her ears fluttering, anxious. Eventually, the lift clattered to a stop on the pavement below, bringing them even with the rabbit who was now scribbling on her clipboard and yelling out orders at the other workers around her. Her ears twitched to the side at the rusty squeak of the elevator gate opening, and after another second, her head turned to see the two foxes stepping onto the tarmac. Fox could see Lily's eyes immediately gravitate towards the blue fox's hand and its firm grip on his arm. Fox shook his head an imperceptible amount, already knowing exactly where her thought process was taking her, practically able to see the lewd comments forming in her mouth. A small smirk played on her mouth, but mercifully she didn't point anything out.

Instead, Lily stood at attention and gave him an overly-dramatic salute, cocky smile still plastered to her face. "Good afternoon, Captain McCloud, sir!" she called out, standing up straighter. Fox gave her a questioning look, grinning a little at the rabbit's absurd posture and expression.

"Not anymore, Lily. We're out of the military now, remember?" The rabbit just shrugged in response, putting her hands in her pockets and shifting her weight to one foot. "Besides, I couldn't ever stand that title."

"Which is exactly why I keep using it, don't you know," she teased, rocking back on her heels slightly.

A chuckle escaped his mouth, and he shook his head. "I do know. Just figured I might finally be able to talk you out of calling me that every time we see each other."

"Not a chance in hell, McCloud. Now," she said, pulling her clipboard in front of her and shoving it into the vulpine's hands, "sign these. I've got a ship to fix and I'm not waiting around all day for your slow ass." After fumbling with the unwieldy packet for a moment, Fox took the papers from her and began scribbling his signature on a few of the pages. "Fair warning..." she began, trying to hold back a grin, "I think Christopher slipped a page in there somewhere that technically signs the deed for the _Great Fox_ over to him." Fox stopped writing and glanced up for a second at that, but ultimately resigned himself to a sigh and continued jotting his name down on the stack of documents.

"Hey, before I forget," Lily started, putting her hands on her hips, "I thought I told you not to mod the ship anymore without letting me know first."

Fox couldn't help but let out a short groan at that, not looking up from his papers. "What, did Falco stick a spoiler on the back again?"

"No, that was me this time," she grinned, earning a suspicious look from the vulpine. "I'm talking about these." She reached into her pocket before holding her hand out. In her palm were what looked like a couple of oddly-shaped, large white and silver screws. Fox arched one eyebrow after seeing them, looking back up at Lily.

"What are they?" he asked, mouth pulling to one side as he tried and failed to identify the foreign objects. Lily just shook her head.

"Beats me. I was hoping you would know." the bunny replied. "The boys found a couple of them bolted to the outside of the hull. At first we thought somebody just got a little ambitious with their screwdriver last time you were docked, but check this out." She tapped on her communicator a few times, then moved the screws towards the device. Once they were a few inches away, the screen began to blur into static, letting off a series of unhappy clicks and pops in the process. She glanced back up at him after the demonstration. "Weird, huh?"

Fox's brow furrowed, gears beginning to click in his head. "Yeah, weird..." he trailed off, thinking. "Could you pass those over to Slip later? I have a feeling he'll want to take a look at them." She shrugged in response, making a short, affirming noise.

"Can do. So what's on your plate for the rest of the day?" Lily asked, peering over the clipboard to make sure Fox was still filling it out correctly. She tapped it once, pointing out a line he'd missed. "If you're just lounging around and enjoying your fame, I could always use a few more people to help clean out the latrines."

Fox let out a small breath, amused. "Not today. I've got a meeting with General Black right after this." He peeked one eye up to gauge her reaction to that sentence. He wasn't disappointed.

His casual statement had clearly caught her off guard, her posture straightening up at sound of the name, the result of years of military instinct. "Woah. _The_ General Black?" The vulpine nodded once, only vaguely trying to hide the grin on his face. "What the hell did you get yourself mixed up in this time, Fox?"

He couldn't help but glance behind himself at that question, peeking at the withdrawn vixen for a half second. The data sphere he'd retrieved from Cerinia weighed down in his pocket. "I don't know. But if anyone can tell me, it's Black."

The bunny just shook her head a little, crossing her arms. "Well, good luck, Star Fox," she said, teasing him a little with the name. "If he takes a bite out of you, make sure you snap some pictures for me."

Fox rolled his eyes in long arc. "Sure thing. I'll do that right after I report your couple hundred charges of insubordination and indecency to him." He tried to put the usual sarcasm in his voice that came along with talking to Lily, but... something was bothering him, clouding his thoughts. The image of Krystal still huddled behind him, nervous, was branded in his vision, making him keenly aware of her timid presence. On one hand, he felt bad for not introducing the vixen to Lily and making her stand there as he took care of business. On the other hand, maybe she appreciated being left out of conversation until she managed to get her feet underneath her again. Unfortunately Lily was Lily, and true to fashion, the bunny forced his move.

"Anyway..." she began, trailing the word off in a way that let Fox know precisely how much harder she was about to make his life, "who's your cute blue shadow back there?" He could feel the vixen's hand clamp down on him again at hearing herself mentioned. In his ear, he heard Krystal inhale quietly, holding her breath. Fox was about to shoot Lily an icy look for frightening the already on-edge vixen, but he was cut short, hit by a wave of surprise. Slowly, he heard the blue fox shuffle behind him. After a second, she stepped out into the open, releasing her grip on his arm and tentatively taking a spot next to him. Pride and love swirled in his head as she opened her soft lips to speak.

"H-hi, she murmured, her shoulders tense, her head bowed. "I'm Krystal. It's-it's a pleasure." She stuck a stiff arm out, recoiling away slightly from the handshake she was offering. Lily froze up for a moment at the gesture, finding herself at a loss for words for once in her life. She glanced back and forth between the two foxes, unsure of how to proceed. She wasn't tongue-tied for very long though. The vulpine saw a smile tease on her lips and her balance shift. Fox had known Lily long enough to understand what was going through her head. He immediately shot her a look that he'd only had to use with her in a handful of other places that had usually involved higher ranking officers; a very distinct, serious look.

 _Please, for the love of all that's good, right, and fair in this universe, just be polite._

Lily rolled her eyes at his silent request, exceptionally tempted to ignore the vulpine and let loose one of her devious phrases or rude jokes. After a second though, she just sighed and laughed, shoulders dropping. Every other time Fox had given her that face, it'd ultimately been in her best interest to listen to him, even if it was less fun. She looked back up at the vixen who was all but trembling at this point, and forced the best pleasant smile she could muster up onto her face. Gently, the rabbit reached her arm out, taking the vixen's hand in hers and giving it a small shake. Krystal jumped a little at first, but mimicked the movement after a surprised moment.

"Well, it's nice to meetcha, Krystal," she said, voice glowing by some small miracle. Fox let out a short sigh of relief. "I'm... betting this is your first time visiting Corneria City," she said with a charming expression, "so if you ever need someone to show you the sights, I'm just a ping away." She pointed at the device on the vixen's wrist before tapping on her own communicator lightly.

Krystal stared back at her uncomprehendingly for a second, trying to process Lily's words on top of everything else she was already taking in. After a second though, a sheepish smile appeared on her face. She nodded once, making a small noise of confirmation. "It's... It's nice to meet you too. Thank you." She looked over at Fox after their introduction, giggling a little once she saw the big grin stuck to his face. He hadn't realized it was possible to feel so much adoration and care for a single person before. If he was in her position, Fox was positive that he'd be curled up on the ground right now, trying to block the world out and retreat into the safety of his own mind. Instead though, Krystal was already on the move, making friends and immersing herself in his world. With every little action she took and every small word she spoke, the vixen proved to be even more of a marvel than he could've possibly anticipated. She was exceptional in every single way imaginable. Love raced through his mind for the vixen that, with every passing moment, seemed more and more perfect. He couldn't help but stare at her for a few seconds, trying to absorb some of her willpower, to ingrain himself in her quick and complex mind.

"Hey. Wake up, McCloud." Fox was drawn out of his reverie by Lily's fingers snapping a few inches from his face. He blinked a couple times, and when his eyes refocused, he saw a knowing smirk spread across Lily's face. Clearly, she was aware of just how bad he had it for the stunning fox. Not that he'd been hiding terribly well, admittedly. Her hand closed around the clipboard, snatching it back out of his hands and stuffing it under one arm. "Alright, that's all I needed from you, Fox. Now, scram," she said, shooing the pair back towards the elevator, "I'm sure we've both got plenty of work to get done." Lily's smirk widened briefly. "But make sure to leave some extra time for... _enjoying_ yourselves, you two."

Krystal nodded and smiled in response, Lily's comment clearly, thankfully, sailing right over her head. She turned around and started heading back for the lift, a little more spring in her step than when she'd first come down. Fox, on the other hand, shot the rabbit a dirty look, which only made her coy expression grow. "Thanks, Lily..." he trailed off, a little sourness laced in his words. He began to walk back with to the ship, but was stopped by the rabbit silently flagging him down with her hands, so the vixen wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, as he rotated back around, the curious look on his face was only met by one last unrestrained, crafty look on the bunny's face.

She put both her hands together, balling one up and laying it on top of the other, which she kept flat. After a moment, she rolled her fist in a small circle on the level surface of her other hand. Fox instantly burst into a mortified mess when he recognized the hand signal. To any outside person, it just appeared that Lily was playing some odd version of rock, paper, scissors by herself. To Fox, it was the universal military code for a short, poignant question.

 _You plowed that yet?_

Her bluntness translated to blood rushing into Fox's cheeks and throat as he devolved into a storm of stuttered fragments. Leave it to Lily to get straight to the heart of the matter.

"W-what?! No!" he sputtered out, eyes bigger than even Krystal's had been when she'd first stepped off the _Great Fox_. Unfortunately, he cried it out a little too loudly, turning the heads of a few nearby workers... And the blue fox in question.

"Is everything okay?" Krystal asked, turning back around to face the pair. Curiosity was clear on her face, seeing Fox's tail thrashing madly behind him and Lily openly snickering. Her eyebrows furrowed together, head tilting to one side as she tried to make sense of the odd scene in front of her.

Fox floundered for any way to explain his current lack of composure, but between the rabbit's jolting question and the vixen's questioning gaze, he was coming up blank. His mouth opened and closed a few times, a cold sweat breaking out on his palms as he tried to think up some excuse, any excuse. Luckily, Lily came to his rescue as quickly as she'd put him in need of rescuing.

"Yeah, we're all good," she said, slapping Fox on the back a few times. "Just reminded him of a dirty old joke from back in our air force days. Isn't that right, McCloud?"

He gulped once, able to relax a little now that Lily had thrown down some cover for him. "Y-yeah. That's right."

The rabbit laughed at the tenseness in his posture, enjoying toying with her friend in front of this girl he was very, very obviously head-over-heels for. She put one arm around his shoulders, shaking the vulpine a little. "Seems he's just as easily scandalized as the day I met him."

At that, the vixen couldn't help but giggle a little. She eyed up Fox with that same foxy look he'd seen on her face so many times over the past week. "Don't I know it."

Fox didn't realize it was possible for Lily's eyebrows to fly so high up, or that her face could hold so wide of a shocked smile.

The rabbit stared at Krystal with an ecstatic face for a moment before glancing back over at Fox with a look of smug satisfaction and sweet victory. She couldn't manage to put together a coherent sentence in her excitement, so instead she simply pointed between the two of them, producing a series of frenzied sounds and syllables.

Too much. This was too much.

This time it was Fox who grabbed onto the vixen's arm for stability, knees threatening to wobble and give out under him. He realized this was a mistake, as it only made Lily's indecipherable fervor grow. He needed to get out of there, now.

"W-well, nice seeing you again Lily," he forced out, gently prodding the vixen back towards the elevator with him. "But, like you said, we're really busy today, so we need to go. Now." The lift complained a little as the pair stepped onto it, Fox's hand rushing out to slam the rusty gate closed behind them. Krystal's light laugh fluttered again in his ears, making him blush an even darker shade of crimson as he jammed his hand down on the elevator's lever, desperation sloshing in his mind. His head was ready to explode under the heat of both girls' taunting stares. After what seemed like an eternity of judgement, the platform finally began to ascend. Fox let out a quick rush of air, relieved. If nothing else, he'd made it out of there with some small shreds of his dignity still intact.

At least, he thought that until Lily gave him one last present. She stuck two fingers in her mouth, and let out a long whistle. A loud whistle. A terribly, astoundingly rude whistle.

Fox's hand made a small _smack_ when it hit his forehead.

/

"This is really where you grew up, Fox?"

"For the most part, yeah. I mean, Papetoon will always be home, but... This is a close second."

She gave the vulpine a soft smile before looking up for what felt like the millionth time. The novelty of it all still hadn't worn off, and probably never would. "It's just... unbelievable," she murmured. She sounded like she'd been lulled into a deep trance, her voice dream-like and slightly disconnected from reality. Metal and glass stretched upwards all around her, rising so far up that it simply disappeared out of view after a while. When Fox had finally shuttled her out of the Harbor; as a bumbling mess, she noted; and brought her into the city itself, her jaw had hit the dirt for the second time that day. Or rather, hit the concrete in this case, because that was all she could see beneath her feet for miles around.

She'd been scared and intimidated by the sheer scale of the place at first, of course. But now, with her fear having evaporated off, there was only excitement left to course through her veins. She wanted to explore all of it. She wanted to learn everything about this wondrous place. And... and she wanted to do it with Fox by her side. Her sight couldn't help but wander back to the orange vulpine walking next to her.

His eyes were closed for the moment, and she saw him reach upwards and stretch his back out, mouth opening in a small yawn. She bit her bottom lip and felt her tail start to sway behind her as she indulged in his toned body for a moment. Gods and goddesses above, he was hot. His t-shirt clung tight to the defined muscles just beneath its surface, drawn taught over his chest and around his abs in a way that made it nearly impossible to resist reaching a hand out and exploring their sharp contours. Despite wearing his jacket, she could still make out the curving angles of his powerful arms. She shivered a little, vying so desperately for the vulpine to wrap her up in his firm embrace, to press his hard, tantalizing frame up against the softness of her body. Her vision wandered up to his face briefly, reveling in the straight lines of his jaw and cheekbones and the soft waves his hair made in the chilly breeze. She suppressed a soft coo at his adorable black button of a nose. One of his perky orange ears twitched at a far off sound, flicking around to hear it before facing forward again. As wonderful as all of that was though... She smiled a devious little smile. A wave of heat rolled across her cheeks and throat when her eyes snuck downwards, taking a mental snapshot of how fantastically his jeans were currently holstering his backside. It had taken all her willpower not to grab two handfuls of it back on the Great Fox, and that temptation only grew with each passing second. She giggled a little, imagining what his reaction would be to her following through on that particular plan.

Unfortunately, the light sound caught Fox's attention and made his eyes re-open. She gulped, tearing her eyes off his ass before he could notice where she'd drifted. A wave of red washed over her chest as her vision snapped to the first object she could find that wasn't the rump of the fox next to her. She stared down a statue on the other side of the street that they were walking down, looking at it intently enough to melt the cast bronze.

"Everything alright, Krystal?" he asked, concern edging into his voice. She shuddered a little in delight.

 _Oh, I love it when he says my name._

"Just fine," she replied, somehow keeping her voice smooth as silk despite the butterflies flitting in her heart. She gave him another smile, admiring the emerald fire in his eyes. They softened under her gaze, and he returned the gesture with his own shy, sweet look before facing forward again. She turned and looked ahead as well, but the smile still lingered on her face, making her lips twitch upwards at the corners every few seconds, making her want to skip down the street. Simply being around Fox did this to her; slipped a silly grin on her face, made her heart race, put her in a bubbly mood. The vulpine was intoxicating, addicting... Selfless. He'd been so kind to her. Krystal knew he'd never abandon her, would support and help her at every turn. He'd already become such a close friend, just in their short time together. The orange fox was the best, most important thing in her life. Joyful tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away with a trembling hand. She realized just how lucky she was to have Fox in her life. Just how fortunate she was that as soon as her entire existence had been set ablaze around her, he'd been there to protect and solace her. Just how in love she was with him. Her heart was beating fast and strong now because of him, for more than one reason.

Despite the warmth that filled her body at thought of the vulpine though... a cold feeling still lurked in the back of her head, a tiny claw of fear that she couldn't ignore forever. Caught up in the bliss of the last few days, it'd been easy to disregard it, to set it aside for later so she could focus on enjoying her time with Fox as much as possible. The vixen felt a lump form in her throat as the terrible thought snaked its way into the forefront of her thinking, sinking its heavy hooks into her consciousness. Now that it was staring her in the face, her brain forced the terrible notion in front of her.

 _After today, Fox will be gone._

Krystal recoiled away from the thought, breaking stride for a second as a wave of fear rolled through her body. A sick feeling churned in her stomach, caused simply by considering the idea of a life without Fox. It was impossible, not being able to tease him in the gym or stay up late with him talking every night. And yet, now that they were on Corneria, it was only a matter of hours before they would say goodbye. She gritted her teeth, biting back a quiet whimper at that last word.

During her and Fox's first real conversation, the vulpine had mentioned that she could stay with a friend of his here on the planet, saying it with his usual considerate smile and posture. She'd accepted his offer without a second thought at the time. That had been a huge mistake. She wanted to go back in time and scream at herself in that moment, to find some way, any way, of staying next to the orange fox. Her vision shifted over to him again, but this time his image just made the dread of losing him that much greater.

There was one solution to her problem, but... but it would never work. He wouldn't agree to it. All she had to do was stay on the _Great Fox_ with him. And to do that... She'd have to join Star Fox. She bit her lip. Every time she had the thought, it seemed absurd. To Fox, she must have just looked like some tribal villager, not a mercenary fit for a team of his caliber. There was no chance that he would let her enlist with his crew. And yet, she couldn't see any other way to stay close to him, to keep the person she cared most about in her life.

The vixen's eyelashes fluttered as she blinked a few times, trying to shake off the ice crawling under her skin. She still had a few more hours left with him, and she sure as hell wasn't going to waste them being worried and distracted. If she had to fit a lifetime with Fox into the next half a day, then that was exactly what she would do.

"So, Foxy..." she started, breaking the comfortable silence between them. She couldn't help but let a little smile appear on her lips when he turned to face her, inquisitive. "Who's this General Black that we're meeting? Judging by Lily's reaction, he must be nearly as important as you," she murred, stepping a little closer in to him.

His body tensed ever so slightly at her proximity, his shoulders pulling in a bit, but he didn't move to maintain the distance between them. She made a little mental note, tucking it away for later. "I'm not exaggerating when I say he's one of the most powerful people in Lylat. Leaps and bounds ahead of me," he replied, putting on a jokingly cautionary expression. "So mind your manners."

A frown spread on her mouth, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Why is he so important?"

Fox chuckled a little at her question, glancing back over at her with those captivating, glowing, verdant eyes of his. "He's in charge of our entire military. If it flies the Cornerian flag and has a gun strapped to it, Black controls it."

Krystal's mind flicked back to the Harbor and the thousands of ships she'd seen in her few minutes there. If those were just the craft that happened to be docking at the time... There must've been so many more spread across the system and galaxy. The vixen tried to picture how many machines and people were under this mystery person's thumb, but her imagination had already been challenged enough that day.

"Does that mean I'm about to meet your boss?" the blue fox teased. "I would've put on something nicer if I'd known." Krystal couldn't help but glance down at the borrowed gym clothes she was still wearing. If it was up to her she'd wear them for the rest of her life, just because with each breath in and out, she could still pick up Fox's tickling cinnamon scent off of them. Unfortunately though, they didn't exactly seem fit for greeting the most powerful person on the planet.

Fox shrugged next to her, hands in his jacket's pockets. "He's not technically my boss, but he might as well be at this point. The military's become the single biggest employer of mercenaries in the last few years. And..." he gestured down to his similarly casual clothing before smirking a little. "Knowing him, I doubt he'll be dressed any nicer than we are."

She and Fox turned around the corner of a building, placing them at the entrance to an expansive plaza, crowded with wooden benches and tables, talking people, and leafy trees. In the middle of the space was a lofty fountain, formed from twisting lines of metal and stone warped around each other. Water rushed down its alternating smooth and rough surfaces, babbling and snapping as it flowed. The liquid didn't collect in a pool at the bottom like she expected, but instead fell straight into the ground, trickling into hundreds of little streams that snaked beneath her feet, visible through small glass panes set into the brick pavers. The vixen stared at the impressive fixture for a second longer. Something about it struck her as odd, but... she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was.

Fox must have noticed her face scrunched up in thought, because after a few seconds his light laugh sounded in her ears. She turned to face him, but when she looked over, the space next to her was empty. She rotated back around, and instead of seeing him strolling along beside her, he was jogging away, moving over towards the fountain that she'd been staring at. He looked back at her over his shoulder with a silly smile, gesturing for her to catch up to him. She giggled a little at his goofy expression, pulling into a run to catch back up with him.

"Fox!" she called out, mouth blooming into a grin, "Wait up!"

His toothy smile only widened in response, making his stride a little faster, turning him around to face her. She marveled at the jade flames in his eyes, suddenly lighting up with happiness and mischief. They were practically glowing. "Don't tell me I'm faster than you while running backwards, Krys!"

She tried to hold back another wonderful giggle at his sunny expression, but a small, joyous sound still escaped her lips. "Chris? Who in the world is Chris?! Get back here!"' She picked up the pace again, closing the distance between them in just a few seconds. She reached out for him with one arm stretched forward, but he was too quick for her. He leaped backwards at the last moment, leaving her grip empty.

"You're Krys! What, your can't telepathy tell you that?" Elation rumbled underneath his words, making a full fledged smile break out on her face. She responded after a few more beats, once she'd overcome a bout of laughter and another failed attempt to grab him.

"No, it can't! And who said you could call me that, Foxy? Now stop running!" This time she put her head down and broke out into an all-out sprint. In an instant, she was nearly on top of him, determination to catch her prey flaring on her face. Fox finally loosed the resounding, overjoyed laugh he'd been suppressing, his entire face lighting up in delight at her pursuit. Just when she was about to wrestle her arms around him, he spun fast on his heel, whipping around and darting away from her. His red and white tail wagged furiously behind him as he ran, taunting her as it stayed just out of reach. That didn't stop her from trying to grab it though, and an exuberant noise escaped her lips as she barely managed to brush a few hairs on the tip of his tail with her outstretched hand.

" _I_ said I could call you that!" he called out over his shoulder, weaving around a surprised looking family of ocelots. "Maybe if you catch me you can make me stop!" He snapped forward again, his loud laugh still audible as he raced away.

She sidestepped around the now-panicking group of felines, beginning to pant through her huge grin. Their feet wove a tapestry of sharp sounds as they pounded against the red and black bricks below, while the wind whistled through her fur, making her jewelry clink and tinkle. She pushed herself to move even faster, but still the vulpine somehow remained just out of her reach. The breeze shook the trees around her, forcing their long, spotted shadows to quiver and dance across her body. All around them, people were chuckling and pointing at them as they tore through the park together, but the vixen couldn't care less. Her vision zeroed in on her target, making the rest of the world an indistinct blur while leaving the sweet, handsome, swift orange fox sharp in her vision. The vulpine took a sharp corner, his striking profile silhouetting against the setting sun for the briefest of moments before they were both tearing off again. Her breathing grew faster as she pushed herself to the limit, feet crashing against the ground as her muscles strained. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she cried out the one word that perpetually circled through her head, that played on the tip of her tongue every hour of every day. Electricity raced up her body as she panted out the single, beautiful name.

"Fox!"

He looked back over his shoulder one more time at hearing her cry. Krystal's heart instantly skipped a beat, her sight locking with his. If she hadn't been moving at top speed already, his expression would have stopped her dead in her tracks. His face had blossomed into a cocktail of happiness and joy, excitement and mischievousness... And so much care. His eyes sang out to her, and despite his continual fleeing, it was as if they wanted her to catch him. Like they would do anything to be close to her, like they would protect her to his last breath. She blinked a few times, her train of thought screeching to a halt under his fiercely warm gaze. In the back of her head, she knew full well that she was just seeing what she wanted to see, that someone like Fox had no reason to ever even cast her a second glance. But in that moment, the only thing she wanted was to embrace the fox that called out to her, body and soul.

And luckily, it seemed like the universe was willing to do her a favor.

Between Fox's continual peeking over his shoulder and Krystal's tunnel vision, neither of the foxes noticed the fountain they were running towards growing larger and larger as they approached it. Still grinning like a lunatic, the vulpine finally took a second to look ahead and get his bearings. His eyes went wide in a flash when he found himself charging headfirst for one of the stalwart steel beams that made up its base, thin streams of water running down its rigid surface. He gulped, realizing he didn't stand much of a chance in a fight against the multi-ton metal rod. In a desperate attempt to cancel out his hurtling momentum, he ground his boots against the brick, spinning around and lowering his body down closer to the ground. He came to a skidding, scampering halt, only letting out a sigh of relief after confirming he hadn't knocked himself out in a collision with the unforgiving, dripping sculpture. He stood back up, dusting himself off and taking a second to catch his breath. Unfortunately, that breath was soon knocked out of him by the cannonball of a vixen tackling him at full speed.

Fox barely had time to brace before the blue blur was on top of him, her frame crashing into his. He managed to stick his hands out in front of him just in time, catching her against his chest and softening the blow on the both of them. The pair still felt the impact though, the vulpine grunting softly and the vixen letting out a high pitched yip. Krystal's speeding inertia sent the two of them careening backwards, stumbling together into the wet metal bar that he was attempting to avoid in the first place. A little water splashed up when Fox's back smacked against it, showering the two in a light spray of cold liquid.

Between the impact, the wave of light laughs from nearby onlookers, and most critically, her sudden proximity to his glowing body, Krystal found herself unable to move or think. She'd been stunned in place, uncomprehending, brain needing to reboot before it could process exactly what had just happened. She blinked a few times, absently wondering what the warm sensation she felt draped around her was. When she came back to lucidity, the vixen inhaled quietly. Her mouth was shocked open as it dawned on her exactly what the feeling was... And how intimate a position they'd ended up in.

Fox's strong arms were wrapped around her back and waist, his tender grip drawing her in close enough for their clothes and fur to rub together. Their bodies pressed up against each other at the hips, and her arms fell lightly across the front of his torso, hands grabbing hold of his sculpted shoulders, pinning him lightly against the metal bar. Water trickled down his back and onto her legs, but the chilling sensation didn't register with her. Instead, as they stood toe to toe, she was consumed by Fox's shocked face filling her vision. Their lips were hovering only an inch apart, noses practically touching. Each heavy, surprised breath they took came in unison, intermingling and coming to a rest as it stirred the soft hairs on the other's face. Her heart pounded at a million miles an hour, and faintly, she could feel his own thundering pulse through the few thin layers of fabric that separated them. His warm heat radiated into her rapidly rising and falling chest, more than making up for the beads of cool water that had settled on her. For as many hours as she'd spent fantasizing about this exact scenario, now that it had suddenly been thrust into reality, she was rendered incapable of speech or movement. Judging from the vulpine's huge eyes and equally agape mouth, he must have been just as star-struck as she was.

Neither had been even remotely prepared for this turn of events. Neither knew how to react, how to speak, or even how to blush or gasp. All they could do was take in the other's stunned expression, letting the droplets of water run down their bodies, panting even more heavily than when they'd been sprinting across the park. Neither of them moved a single muscle. For the next eternity, they sat stock still, staring at the other in their astonishing embrace. Only after that silent, unthinking infinity had passed did Krystal finally manage to force a small word out of her mouth.

"G-gotcha..." she whispered, her lips barely moving. Her eyes still wide, unblinking.

Fox's own eyes seemed to refocus when her words broke the silence between them, shifting down slightly and entangling with hers. She could hear his respiration speed up slightly, but he was still too dazed to react more extremely. Instead, he just breathed his own one word response.

"Y-yeah..." Fox gulped after he spoke, but for some miraculous reason, his body didn't turn to iron under her touch. Maybe it was just because this accident had been so unexpected. But... maybe it was something more?

At the sound of his willful, inspiring, quiet voice, the stunned vixen couldn't help but notice a familiar feeling teasing at the edges of her mind, trying desperately to grab her attention. Vaguely, she turned her mind's eye to the sensation. She had to use every ounce of her remaining self-control to hold back a long, satisfied moan at what she found. It was Fox's blazing, roaring mind. His consciousness had always felt especially pleasant to her telepathy, and there was little she enjoyed more than sitting and basking in his warmth. Right now though, his usual comforting heat had expanded into a radiant inferno, filling her entire body with a tingling fire. Flames lapped under her skin, calling out to their origin only an inch in front of her. Everywhere their bodies touched; her hands, her chest, her waist; were lit aflame in a sudden combustion. The feeling magnetized the vixen, begging her to move in even closer to the vulpine. Despite her body's plea though, she restrained herself to blinking once, tightening her grip on his shoulders and letting out a content sigh.

When she reopened her eyes, she was presented with Fox's graceful, perfect face again. His soft orange and white fur rustled in the breeze, one of his ears twitching instinctively at the pressure. However, instead of his previous shocked expression... There was the tiniest, most bashful smile on his face. He was looking down and away, shy, but he couldn't hide it from her.

 _He's... he's happy._

A jolt of energy pulsed through her body when she saw his expression, starting in her tail and racing upwards to the tips of her ears. Fox was happy! Maybe he was also nervous or scared or angry, but there was at least some small segment of the vulpine that was currently, undeniably, irrevocably happy. His smile told her that much. After a second, she realized she was smiling too, ever so slightly. The numbness that had slowed her thinking and left her mute disappeared in an instant, replaced with pure joy, pure bliss. Her smile grew, forcing her to look away as well. The jubilant feeling saturated her mind, illuminating her every thought. After a moment, she heard Fox's low, embarrassed chuckle. The sound brought a small laugh to her own lips. The pair of sounds was the only acknowledgment that their current position was at all remarkable, was even worth mentioning. Was ground-shaking, was awe-inspiring. Still though... Neither of them pushed away. They both looked back up simultaneously upon hearing the other laugh. Krystal couldn't help but shiver when their gazes locked one last time.

Despite the hundreds of times she'd told herself that Fox couldn't care about her as more than a friend, despite the simple logic that someone like herself would never be good enough for the vulpine, when she looked into his viridian eyes, she saw so much pure, undiluted devotion. They were brimming with an uncontainable, bottomless wellspring of love. She knew that her mind was just playing tricks on her, that she was bending reality to conform to what she'd dreamed of every night since their first conversation, but... She gulped once, having to blink back a tear. But she didn't care. All she wanted was to see passion in Fox's eyes when he looked at her. Nothing else mattered. If that meant she had to pretend to see concern and adoration when it had no reason to be there, then she'd go ahead and play make-believe.

So, she pretended the soft look on his face was desire. She imagined the reason he was pressed up against her was affection. She hoped with every fiber of her being that the warmth that burned in his mind was love.

And when she tricked herself into thinking all that was true... She felt content. Complete. Like things were the way that the universe had intended them to be. A calm coolness ran over her mind and body, cleansing her of every fear, doubt, and sadness that her heart clutched at. Her eyelids fluttered closed on their own, growing heavy with relaxation. She sighed once, shuffling in closer to him by the smallest margin. This was right.

 _This is right._

Nothing could ruin this singular, impeccable moment. She would stay right here, with Fox's protective arms around her, with cool water running over their bodies, with his flaring mind encompassing her forever. And it would be perfect.

At least, that's what she thought before a confident voice spoke right next to them, sending them leaping ten feet into the air, gasping, stammering, and blushing.

"Fox McCloud!" the voice called out, instantly ripping their delicate, isolated world apart like a bomb. The two foxes scrambled apart from each other, untangling their limbs before the important-sounding person could catch them in their forbidden act. Both of their heads snapped to the side, finding a pure white wolf approaching them. "Nice to see you're prompt as ever. Hope you still remember me," he said, sticking a hand out jestingly. "Caspian Black, at your service."

/

A/N: Man, I'm such a tease. I don't even know if I need any more notes than just that, I think that about sums up this chapter. But you're getting more anyway, because I like hearing myself talk. :P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter now that we're finally back on solid ground! A few questions coming up in this one, a handful of important people getting introduced here too. I've got even more characters being introduced in the coming chapters, and more plot exposition coming in too. And yes, probably more fluff. Although, actually, I don't know that I really have any other fluffy scenes planned for a bit. Weird. Next chapter should be mostly business.

Anyway, thanks as always to Sani for his feedback and ideas. Also, thanks to Nail and 'Larix for their new reviews and time. And of course, thanks to everyone who's reading, following, and favoriting. It means a lot. :D I know this one is a bit on the long side, even for me. Sorreh. If I'm being honest though, I'd still like to sneak one more scene in this chapter, but that'd put me at around 16k... and I'd like to at least pretend like I've learned from chapter 2.

Alright, I'll wrap this up. I haven't started on chapter 6 yet, but I'm itching to get started on the first scene for it, so I'll probably start writing that as soon as I post this. Chapter 6 might take a little longer than usual, just because I'm starting up writing a new series alongside this one. It's going to be significantly less fluffy and more humory than this one. No spoilers! Hope you guys enjoyed, and are looking forward to the fun things I've got planned for this!


	6. Act I: Chapter 6 Inverter

Chapter 6 | Inverter

Time hung in the air around Krystal, unmoving, unresponsive. Leaves halted mid-sway on the branches of the stalwart oaks that surrounded her. Water froze into ice on the fountain towering in front of her. Even though the vixen was only stunned in place for a second, every moment of it stretched on for an aching infinity. All activity in her mind ground to a halt, interrupted by the impossibility of what was happening. Someone had just caught her and Fox in a close embrace, hovering only inches apart from one another. That idea chiseled a single crack in her mental dam, bringing her and Fox's private little world crumbling down.

"G-General Black!" Fox exclaimed, voice jumping as much as his and Krystal's bodies did. Reality slammed back into the pair, the wolf's words smashing the delicate spell that had held them together, forcing them to untangle their limbs before anyone could catch them. Fox jerked his arms off of the blue vixen's waist, recoiling away and bumping into the metal bar behind him. Krystal immediately felt the cold begin to seep back into her body at the removal of her warm orange blanket, but she was too busy pushing off of the vulpine's torso to notice. After what felt like a painful eternity of stuttering and flailing, the two foxes found themselves standing side-by-side, backs rigid with tension, chests rising and falling feverishly. Their gazes were fixed dead ahead, each avoiding eye contact with the other as if their lives depended on it.

A brief look of confusion appeared on the wolf's face when he saw the two standing together so awkwardly. He hesitated for a split-second, wondering if he'd just interrupted something personal. Clearly he figured it wasn't any of his concern though, because he shrugged in the next second, resuming his winning smile and confident stride towards the duo.

"The one and only," he called out, eyes and grin glowing. He gave the vulpine a jokingly reproachful expression, pretending to scold him. "But please, you know not to use that name! I'd rather not slip back into the days where I had to call you Captain McCloud, just because you insisted on referring to me by that stuffy title."

The vixen blinked once. A blank, flustered look dominated her expression. She'd heard all of the sounds that had just come out of the lupine's mouth, but they'd ended up as little more than a jumble of unrelated noises to her reeling mind. Her entire consciousness instead found itself focused on the mortified heat pounding in her chest and throat, making her squirm where she stood. Just mere seconds ago, the accidental experience that her and Fox shared had felt miraculous. A wave of calm tranquility and happiness had washed over her and filled her with bliss. The entire universe had seemed perfect in that moment. That feeling had vanished, replaced instead by a chilling mix of terror and regret.

 _Stupid! Why did I do that?! He must be horrified with me now!_

How could she have let something like this happen? Been so... so weak? He'd probably hated every second of that, but was just too shy and quiet to say anything! She wanted to pull her hair out with frustration at herself. Pretending the orange vulpine was in love with her was enthralling and incredible, but that's all it was: pretending. Make believe. Just a lie. And if she tried to force that lie into reality, tried to make Fox fit her fantasies... Her ears flattened back while a shiver crept down her spine, making the blue and white fur on her tail stand on end. If Fox knew how she really felt, he might run away from her. He might abandon her. The vixen's fists clenched at her sides, a burst of icy fear spiking through her veins at the idea of Fox's disappearance. She had nothing left except for the sweet, shy vulpine. And if she was so careless that she drove him away, then she'd lose everything again for a second time. Without him there to talk to, to tease, to be near...

It would break her.

Krystal gulped hard, her throat and tongue like sandpaper. She knew it was the truth. Her will would collapse if she lost Fox on top of everything else that had already been ripped out for her life. The only reason that she hadn't been destroyed by the constantly looming storms in her mind was the vulpine's never ending support and kindness. Removing him from her life now wouldn't just crush her... It would also steal away the one person who alleviated the pain. She knew she couldn't survive that.

Ropes constricted around Krystal's heart, leaving her short of breath. The autumn air suddenly felt harsh and frigid, biting at her skin. All she could do now was hope that her poorly thought out stunt hadn't already scared him off. Despite her anxiousness, she couldn't help but sneak a furtive glance over at the vulpine to try and size up his reaction. She needed to know if she really had gone too far. In her peripheral vision, she could just make out his orange figure next to her. He was breathing quickly and shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He looked disoriented, the gears in his head still clearly skipping and lurching every other second. Obviously, their exchange had left him just as dazed as she was. After a mute moment spent watching him with a laser-like focus, he blinked a few times, his eyes refocusing on the wolf.

"R-right. Sorry," he said, still sounding disconnected from the world around him. "Old habits die hard. It's... it's good to see you again, Cas." Fox managed to offer up one halting hand in response. The general let out a quick laugh, taking it in his grasp immediately and giving it a few firm pumps. The vulpine let his arm fall back to his side once the wolf let go, instantly reverting back to his ironclad posture.

Krystal could feel frustration thumping at the gates of her mind. She wanted to yell at herself for being so stupid, to shake Fox until he snapped out of his reverie. She needed to know if she'd just ruined her one chance with her orange miracle.

His reaction could only swing two ways. He was either going to stay warm and friendly with her, or... he would flee from her. A cold bead of rolled down her back at that second option. Either way he went though, knowing would at least be better than this limbo she was stuck in, not having any idea what was going through the vulpine's mind. This waiting was unbearable. She needed to know if he was going to turn and embrace her, was going to grow cold and distant, or would simply run away and try to never see her again. Anything would be better to lingering in this dazed, torturous incoherency.

She could feel her pulse speeding up, her breathing growing shallower and shallower with every second she stood there. She'd felt unsure and nervous around Fox plenty of times, of course, but... But never quite like this. Krystal blinked once, the small action doing nothing to calm her rampaging nerves. Something was different this time. Something was changing. Her mind crackled with energy and anticipation. Normally it was easy to keep track of Fox's disposition with her telepathy, but now the task had grown nearly impossible. Her own racing thoughts seemed to interweave with his, her broiling mentality crashing up against his tidal wave of uncertainty. Every small fluctuation in their feelings was magnified a hundred-fold in her mind's eye, each violent shift leaving her dizzy and breathless with vertigo. She clenched her fists together, trying and failing to wrestle back control of herself.

 _What's happening to me? Why do I feel so... so different?_

There was a riot was underway in her head, her usually steadfast and calm telepathy suddenly whipped into a tumultuous fervor. It was bending and buckling under the sudden pressure being exerted on every inch of her mind. The white-hot energy pulsing between herself and Fox was affecting her powers, like a blacksmith's furnace might heat metal, like a hammer might bend and twist it into something new. After a long second spent desperately trying to understand what was happening, her eyes widened. She had to hold back a quiet breath at a sudden realization.

Her telepathy was transforming.

This entire incident had triggered something in her abilities. She'd been told about this before. About these pivotal moments where her telepathy would be turned into malleable clay, waiting to be shaped by the actions of herself and those closest to her. And whether that meant it would grow and form into something new or would shrivel and crack all depended on her and Fox's next choices. She glanced over at him, his striking silhouette still visible through the uproar in her head. Every small thought, every little flare of emotion that passed between the two of them was projected front and center onto her consciousness. For those few moments, she was sensitive to every little change in their minds, her entire being consumed by the sheer intensity of it all. The vixen was forced into an awed silence as their link encompassed her. All she could do was wait for Fox's reaction.

Unfortunately, however, the third person in their meeting had no intention of letting her slip under the radar.

Cas' charismatic eyes shifted off of the vulpine after their greeting, turning instead to look at her. His gaze was friendly and curious. And, unfortunately, it was also talkative. She nearly let out a resounding groan, knowing full well that his excited expression meant she wasn't going to be allowed to lurk in the background of this conversation, to deal with her sudden change in silence. "And who do we have here?" Cas asked with an unwelcomely sparkling smile. He reached his hand out one more time, offering her one of his firm handshakes. "Who would this lovely vixen be, Fox?"

Krystal froze for a moment, not reacting to the gesture. Even through the walls of shock that were pummeling her mind, her eyes instinctively darted over to the vulpine at the sound of his name. Its ring was sharp enough to pierce through the fog that clouded her thoughts. The small burst of clarity brought around a new idea in the back of her head, an opening she couldn't help but leap at. The wolf may have just given her the best opportunity she could've possibly hoped for. She bit her bottom lip, her heart somehow racing even faster than before.

 _What will he say about me?_

Fox was going to have to answer Cas' question, and when he did... Was he going to say that she was just an acquaintance? Just someone that he'd rescued? Or... or something else? His answer could be just what she was looking for; some glimpse into what he was thinking at the moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Fox's nose twitch unhappily, clearly caught up in his own racing thoughts as much as she was. They both seemed to realize his answer held more weight than just a simple introduction. It would either be a recognition that their embrace had been a perfect accident, or a horrible mistake. Krystal finally reached one arm out, taking Cas' hand in hers. Their handshake moved up and down a few times, the wolf looking over at Fox expectantly while Krystal tried to pretend like the very fabric of her being wasn't being cut and re-sewn as they spoke. Her heart leapt into her throat when words finally managed to make their way out of his nervous lips. Whatever he said now would change her permanently; both her telepathy and the knowledge that she was or wasn't welcome near him.

"Oh, r-right, let me introduce you two," he managed. He sounded more aware of his surroundings than before, but that did little to take the clearly anxious edge off his voice. "This is General Bl- ...Err, Caspian," he stopped himself halfway through, noticing the wolf eyeing him up suspiciously. "He leads the Cornerian military now, but... we've known each other since the Academy." Cas' smile somehow brightened even further at Fox's words. She would have found the contrast between his jubilant confidence and their stammering anxiety funny if she wasn't currently more jumpy than Falco anytime she mentioned the color pink. The vulpine fidgeted with the hem of his jacket, recognizing that he couldn't put the moment off any longer. The butterflies in her stomach were enough to make her lightheaded, to cause the entire world to focus down onto the orange fox she cared about with all her heart. She flinched a little as an especially powerful wave of nervousness slammed up against her swirling telepathy; whether it originated in her mind or his, she couldn't tell. Ultimately, her entire predicament had its root in one question. Was he afraid because their embrace was right or wrong? In that moment, every fiber of her being hoped for the former. Either way though, she wouldn't be kept in suspense for much longer.

The vulpine opened and closed his lips a few times, forcing Krystal to jump at each false start. Finally though, he managed to speak a few sentences through the waves of nervousness rolling between the two of them.

"And this is K-Krystal," he stammered, hesitating at the end. She couldn't help but whine a little at hearing the fox she loved so intently say her name aloud, the small noise only audible to her own twitching ears. "She's... She's..." he trailed off, unable to find the right title to describe her. Unable to give words to whatever he was thinking and feeling, good or bad. Their gazes locked one last time over the silence. The intensity in his glowing jade eyes forced a small gasp from her lips. Everything about his anxious face, his hunched stance, his huddled posture screamed uncertainty. Every inch of his body was drawn taught with vibrating tension. The vixen's hopes plummeted at just how nervous he was. She could feel the darkness that had haunted her for so long back on the Great Fox readying itself again, just waiting for the vulpine's rejection as the signal to overwhelm her. She pulled her shoulders in and clenched her fists, bracing as best she could for the inevitable rejection that Fox would lay before her.

But then... Lighting coursed through the vixen's body, equal parts shock and joy. Her entire face lit up in ecstatic relief.

A miracle occurred.

In the briefest of moments, everything changed. Without warning, Fox's face gentled. The worried lines on his forehead vanished, replaced instead with the tiny, incredibly bashful smile of his that she adored so much. As she stared at him, an ocean of quiet contentment swept away the fear and doubt in the vulpine's emerald eyes. His body relaxed ever so slightly, the steeled cords in his arms and neck loosening their grip on his figure.

Her heart leapt in her chest when she saw his transformation, a spark of excitement jolting through every nerve in her body. She couldn't help it when a quick laugh escaped her lips, a few shallow gasps filling her lungs after waiting so long in breathless limbo.

Clearly he was still anxious, that much was clear from his flicking tail and unsteady balance. But in that moment... Something clicked in his mind. Something that gave him the confidence to finish his sentence in a way that made the vixen want to tackle him into the deepest, most passionate kiss the universe had ever witnessed, the consequences be damned. Her heart swelled when his lips finally parted, his incredible words like a symphony to her ears. His incredible words striking their final mark against her surging telepathy, finally settling it back into her mind.

"She's... A close friend," he whispered, his warm eyes never leaving her own. "A partner."

He looked down when he finished, shuffling his feet a little, but he didn't tense up again. Instead he simply stood there, looking sheepish, his expression full of care. Full of affection and tenderness. His eyes eventually peeked back up to glance over at her, but she was too stricken to contain herself.

Fox's words filled her entire body with a glowing fire. The knots in her stomach unwound, unshackling her and releasing her into freedom. She felt like if she jumped, she might just float away on a cloud of bliss, drifting off to a place where the only thing in the world that mattered was her Foxy. Seeing his vivacious eyes as they lifted back up sent a hot tingle through her body, coursing through her back, her fingers, her tail.

After a brief, overjoyed moment, a new feeling presented itself in her head, demanding her immediate attention. She nearly burst with anticipation once she realized what it was, eagerly shifting her mind's eye over to examine it. It took all of her remaining self-control to hold back a moan at the new sensation burning bright in her mind. Fox had always felt warm and comforting to her telepathy, beckoning for her to stand close in his comforting glow. But now... The feeling burning in her head was indescribable.

When she turned over to his gleaming aura, she could suddenly feel so much more than just his usual sparkling zeal. Her eyes widened as a parade of unfamiliar feelings stormed her thoughts, shoving everything else aside to make way for itself. His mind still felt just as safe and wonderful to be around, but now, there were so many more threads and nuances to his radiance, each one distinct and personal in its own way. It wasn't just the protective flame of a furnace anymore. The perpetually shifting heat of his sharp mind, the small crackle of electricity that darted through his thoughts, the sweet joy that hid behind his smile... All of it now wove together into a tapestry unrolling out of the vulpine's mind, wrapping around her own consciousness in a single, perfect instant. She couldn't hold back the ecstatic grin on her face, the small burst of laughter that escaped her lips, or the small tears of joy collecting in the corners of her eyes.

She wanted nothing more in that moment than to throw herself at the sweetest, kindest person she'd ever met. Only a mountain of self-restraint stopped her from pinning him back up against the fountain and shoving her lips against his, from letting her hands sneak under his clothes and run across his soft fur and strong muscles, from claiming the vulpine she wanted to stay next to for the rest of her life. Instead, she only gave him back a smile that she was sure was just as shy as his own, glancing away before the joy bubbling in her chest could make her do something that she'd regret.

They both stood still like that for what felt like minutes and hours on end, glimpsing the other out of the corner of their vision as they stared at their feet. No awkwardness or doubt plagued their minds. The only thing that existed in that moment between them was a world of comfort, a total dedication and silent acknowledgement of something new. Something deeper. Something more fundamental. Somehow, this moment felt even more monumental than their embrace just moments ago.

The vixen could have stayed there, reveling in the happiness rolling between herself and the vulpine, for the rest of her life and never once complained. Of course she wanted to leap forward and grab him, to feel his protective arms around her, to press their bodies up together, but she'd learned her lesson by now. This was enough. This solitary universe that just held the two of them was more than enough.

Much to her chagrin though, the real world continued on outside their bubble.

"Well, that's wonderful to hear!" the wolf proclaimed, clapping his hands together as he spoke. His loud words and gestures shattered their private respite for a second time, making both of the foxes glance back up at him. "Any friend of Fox's is a friend of mine," he finished, cocking his head to side ever so slightly as he gave off his winning grin. Krystal wanted to laugh at how clearly oblivious he was of the entire unspoken play that had just been performed by herself and Fox, but she held her tongue. Instead, she only gave Fox one last tiny smile, looking to the side for just long enough to see his kind, handsome face, letting the stream of new feelings pour in from his mind. She tried to show him just how grateful she was in one expression, for accepting her, for saving her, for supporting her, for letting her in... For everything. He looked over as well, his emerald eyes lingering in hers one last time. He returned her smile with one of his own, his earnest expression making her heart leap into her throat. They both looked away after a long second though, drawn back into the real world at last by the white wolf's words.

"You know what?" The wolf raised his wrist up, tapping on his communicator a few times to bring up a small clock. "I bet you two are starving. What do you say we all go grab some dinner and catch up? My treat."

Krystal considered the offer for a moment, pensive. She wasn't one to pass up a free meal, and besides... It might give her a little time to sort through all these new feelings she could pick up from Fox's mind. She shrugged once, turning to the vulpine to see what he thought. He was still grinning a little, his weight shifted onto one foot. "Sounds good to me. But I can pay for-" Fox started, but was almost instantly interrupted by a series of disapproving tuts and finger waves from the wolf.

"Not this time, McCloud. If you buy the food, I swear I'll just slip the money back into Star Fox's invoice," he said with a little smirk. "So please, save me the trouble and just agree." Fox couldn't help but chuckle at Cas' adamant posture, knowing full well that the wolf meant what he said. He'd been beaten.

"Alright, but just this once." Fox glanced over at the vixen then, looking for her opinion. His eyes seemed brighter than usual, their typical green fire burning a more verdant shade of jade as he held her gaze. "Are you hungry, Krys?" A small giggle escaped her lips when he used that nickname for her one more time. Apparently it was going here to stay. And... she liked it, coming from him.

"I could eat," she replied after a second. "I'd like to see if the food in this city lives up to how astounding the buildings are." Cas clapped once after they'd both accepted his invitation.

"Wonderful!" The lupine spun on his heel and began to stroll away after the excited word, beckoning for the two foxes to follow him. "There's this great diner a few blocks over that I've been eating at recently. I bet you two will love it." By the time he'd finished his sentence, he was already nearly out of earshot, strolling briskly down one of the brick walkways. Krystal shot Fox an amused look at the wolf's seemingly boundless energy. She was met with an entertained eye roll of his own, silently agreeing with the vixen. After a second, the two jogged side by side back up to the wolf, catching up to him as they passed underneath the steady light of a street lamp.

/

"I'm glad you could meet with me on such short notice, Fox," the wolf said, cutting off a small bite of steak and spearing it with his fork. "Things have been so hectic lately, I've had to start planning my days out to the minute! Finding time for an entire meeting was leaps and bounds more difficult than even basic training was. You know that's saying something."

The vulpine made a short noise of agreement at that. He twirled some pasta around his fork, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it, Cas. We're happy to help whenever we can. Besides," Fox said, tapping on his communicator once to bring up his own schedule, "now that we're docked, we don't have much to do until repairs are complete. Setting up a last minute meeting wasn't a problem, I promise."

Krystal saw Cas relax a little at the vulpine's assurances. He settled back into his booth, the vinyl fabric letting out an unhappy squeak as he leaned back, bunching up behind him. The vixen's eyes wandered around the quaint little restaurant as she ate, idly taking in her surroundings. Each wall was painted with long, interlocking chains of geometric patterns painted in warm oranges and reds, broken up by the occasional piece of simple art. The furniture was constructed from lacquered wood that gleamed dully in the soft fluorescence put off by the lights dangling from the ceiling. Waiters strolled by, carrying plates of steaming food and icy drinks. They each told jokes and laughed with their customers as they served them, acting more like good friends than employees. The scent of perfectly prepared food wafted into her nose, the delicious smells making her mouth water despite already having a bowl of soup in front of herself, brimming with salty broth, fresh herbs, and perfectly boiled zucchini. She'd been craving it lately, and this was hitting the spot.

The vixen felt at ease here. Corneria City was grand and magnificent, but this felt so... friendly. It didn't try to emulate the magic and sheer scale of the rest of the city. Instead, it was a tiny cove of relaxation, a well-earned timeout in the hectic game that she'd been playing ever since she landed on this planet. Eventually her eyes completed their circle around the restaurant, finally coming to a rest on her handsome Foxy. He was sitting right next to her, lifting his fork up to his mouth. The vixen snuggled back into their shared seat, scooting imperceptibly closer to him as she watched. She had to hold back a soft coo as he sucked up more of his spaghetti, making a little drip tomato sauce splash up and land on the tip of his button nose. His eyes went crossed as he focused on the small red blob, mouth pulling into a small frown at the renegade food. After a moment the vulpine noticed her looking over, and he blushed as he quickly cleaned his face off.

Krystal shot him one last sly grin, getting a brighter blush out of him when he realized that she'd seen all of that. Her tail "accidentally" flicked around to brush against his, ensuring his entire face was covered in that embarrassed expression she loved so much before turning back to face the wolf across the table. He made a brief thumbs-up in response to the vulpine's assurances. "Good to hear," he said, nodding quickly. "I'm also glad that you've finally let me meet one of your friends!" he said, shifting to face her. "Honestly Fox, I can't remember the last time I saw you with somebody from outside your work."

Krystal giggled a little at that, noticing the vulpine rub the back of his neck, somehow even more embarrassed than before. She would never get tired of that face. "Ah, yeah... Sorry about that. I guess I've been a little focused on Star Fox lately." A small smile toyed at the corners of his mouth when he noticed the playful smirk she was sending his way. "This is her first visit to Corneria, so I've been showing her the sights."

Somehow, Cas' enthusiasm managed to increase even further at learning that this was her first trip to the planet. Krystal was beginning to suspect that Cas was the strategic energy reserve for this entire planet, considering how boundless his eagerness appeared to be. His eyes lit up with delight, his ears standing straight up. "Is that so? That's great! I always love seeing what newcomers think about the city." He looked at her excitedly, his tail wagging and thumping against the seat every other second.

"It was... rather overwhelming at first," she started, laughing a little at what might've been the understatement of her life. "But once Fox showed me around, I was captivated. I don't think this place will ever stop amazing me." She couldn't help but gravitate towards one of the long, broad windows as she spoke, still in awe of the towering buildings that stretched far above the clouds. The longer she scanned the horizon, the calmer she started to feel, eventually allowing a haze of contentment managed to permeate all of the new feelings that she was receiving from Fox. She wanted to close her eyes and let all of them dance through her head, to take the time to get to know each new aspect of his mind by heart.

In just this one day, she'd met so many kind people, experienced so many new things, had so many intimate moments with Fox... And now this shift in her telepathy would let her grow even closer to him, let her understand him even better, even if it would take days and weeks to truly grasp everything that had changed with her abilities. A light feeling dispersed itself into her thoughts, pushing out any memory of the pain and darkness from the last month.

Cas made a small noise and nodded his head, agreeing with her. "It's a great place, isn't it? Some people say it's too artificial and fabricated, but..." he shrugged his shoulders and lifted his hands up in resignation. "I don't see it that way. This city's alive, just as much as any forest or meadow. Everywhere you look, it's always changing. Sure, the advertisements swap out for the latest album or communicator, and businesses start up and disappear all the time, but the people change too." He flashed her a smile as he finished, including her in his next sentence. "There's always somebody new coming to see Corneria for the first time, throwing their two cents in and making the people here that much more interesting."

Krystal smiled at the compliment. It only took a quick glance around the room to realize that she deviated from the norm here by quite a large margin. But if the lupine was right, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about being rejected here, but..." Her eyesight trailed over to the orange vulpine next to her, still looking down with that adorable little smile of his on his face. "That didn't happen, thanks to Fox."

Cas laughed, turning to look at the shy figure himself. "He's got a knack for that, doesn't he? Ah, but listen to me!" the wolf said, shaking his head and tapping one finger against his temple. "I sound like a brochure, don't I? Just trust me," he said, gesturing around himself, "I promise you'll like it here." He smiled again once he finished speaking, but he snapped his fingers in the next instant, looking like he'd just remembered something. "Speaking of people changing though, I have to ask," he started, pointing towards her arms, "where did you find that color of fur dye? A friend of mine has been looking for that exact shade of blue, but none of the salons around here seem to sell it."

Krystal giggled a little at his question, lifting her arm up to see her azure fur rustling slightly in the air conditioning. "Sorry, but I probably won't be much help. This isn't dye." The vixen looked back up at him, putting on an apologetic face. "This is my natural fur color."

A new layer of curiosity mixed into Cas' charismatic expression at that, his eyebrows arched and mouth pulling to one side. "Really? I've never heard of anybody from Lylat with blue fur like yours!" He crossed his arms, looking her up and down once quickly. "What part of the system is your home from then? I'm guessing... Fortuna? Katina?"

In that instant, only the vixen's strong will kept her from gasping in pain. Krystal shuddered, flinching away from the wolf's question. Her fists instinctively balled up underneath the table, a dagger of pain stabbing through her mind as memories of her now-destroyed home blitzed into the forefront of her thinking. The suddenness of the question stung, striking too close to home. Despite the cozy blanket that Fox's new feelings had formed around her, a spike of pain still pierced through the veil, burning her hardly healed wounds with a new wave of guilt and remorse. Her shoulders pulled in close to her neck, ears folded back, head bowed down.

Next to her, she could hear the vulpine shuffle in place. Before the wolf could even finish asking his question, she felt on a surge of grief pulsing through Fox's mind, a small, dark pit forming in his thoughts. The vixen could feel his worried gaze resting on her, his jade eyes heavy and consoling. As comforting as that was though, it did little to take her mind off of the darkness once against relentlessly threatening on the edges of her thinking. She hated this, how every time somebody mentioned her home, the pain would reappear from the shadows. Fox must have realized what the general's question had done to her. Still staring at her feet, she heard him open his mouth to speak, to try and explain for her.

"Krystal's... Not from Lylat," he started, hesitating on his words, choosing them carefully to avoid hurting her even further. She appreciated the sweet fox more than ever in that moment. "We rescued her on our last mission. She's staying with us, for now." Krystal managed to look up at the vulpine, meeting his gaze. Despite everything, she couldn't help but smile just a little at his expression. There was so much sympathy and hurt flowing from him in that moment. His bottomless eyes seemed to call out for her to scoot in even closer, to let him take her pain away, to nuzzle into his protective arms. Thinking about her home and family still hurt like nothing else. She doubted that she'd ever fully be able to accept and forget what had happened. But... Fox was there for her. And that was enough.

When Krystal finally managed to lift her head back up to the lupine, she was confronted with Cas' face now full of surprise, his usual confidence nowhere to be found. "O-oh. So... you're... not from Lylat? You're... you're from...?" Cas stumbled on the final word, seemingly as unable to say the last word on the tip of both their tongues. Unfortunately though, that didn't stop her from hearing it loud and clear in her mind.

 _Cerinia._

Krystal bit her bottom lip at the sea of memories that bubbled to the surface of her mind at the name of her home. It ached less than it used to, thanks to Fox and his perpetual care. But the single word still left a dull ache in the center of her chest. She only offered up a single nod in response to the wolf's question, trying to give him a small smile, but knowing it was only a feeble veil thrown over her pain. Cas raised one hand over his mouth, a look of shock dominating his expression. His brown eyes widened, and she could see worry lines set into his face, a soft gasp sounding from behind his fingers.

Despite the regret and sorrow clear in his posture though... something happened then that shook her out of her pain. Something that she didn't understand.

A new presence flickered at the edge of her consciousness. It was sudden and unexpected, managing to punch through even the overwhelming, numbing warmth of Fox's mind. The new sensation darted in and out of her sight almost too quickly for her to notice, vanishing as soon as it appeared. She managed to catch a brief glimpse of it though, the intense feeling like a sharp pinch inside her thoughts. Her head flicked upwards automatically, seeking out the source of the feeling: Cas.

For him to have overpowered Fox's blazing presence, even for just an instant... There was no mistaking just how powerful the surge of emotion had been in his mind. It wasn't a feeling of sympathy or sorrow though. Her brow furrowed when she finally manage to pinpoint what had just shot through the wolf's head.

A sudden, massive rush of fear.

Her body instinctually recoiled away, her back pressing into the booth, her feet planting hard against the tile floor. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it had shown itself though, leaving her dazed and confused. It felt as if someone had made a deep indentation in her mind, only to pull themselves out in the next second, leaving an empty vacuum in her thoughts. She blinked once, attempting to dislodge the unease.

 _That can't be correct... Was he just... afraid?_

After all, he looked so sorrowful and regretful... Could she have just been mistaken? Surely, that must have been it. Just a fluke. Maybe it'd just been some hiccup in her powers, maybe a side effect of her still getting used to their new, expanded form. And yet, a chill pulsed down her spine, the phantom feeling of the wolf's fear still branded in the front of her mind. She was sure of what she'd just felt. She wasn't mistaken. Her body tensed ever so slightly, curling instinctively into a more defensive position. Why would Cas have felt like that? Ideas began to fly in the vixen's mind, but she barely had time to try and piece together what might've just happened before he was already speaking again. The wolf had entirely recovered from whatever lapse he'd just suffered, worry and pain written clearly on his features.

"I'm... I'm so sorry," Cas started, leaning back towards the two foxes. "I was briefed on what happened on that mission a few weeks ago. It's unforgivable." He looked Krystal in the eye, a look of steadfast resoluteness taking over his expression, entirely different from the fear she'd just glimpsed in his mind. Despite everything, the look still sent a wave of reassurance through her. "I swear, I'll do everything in my power to make Andross pay for what he's done."

Krystal's words returned to her at that point, the feeling of pain that had been wracking her mind now pushed aside by the wolf's puzzling reaction. A growing suspicion churned in the bottom of her stomach. After all, why would he have any reason to be afraid? What could have inspired that kind of reaction? At the same time though, Cas' genuine concern and commitment spread a certain determination through her body. He really did mean what he said; that ape would regret what he'd done to her. To her friends and family. The two feelings complained and pushed against each other, only leaving her more confused than before. She opened her mouth to speak again, both suspicion and relief laced into her words. "I... I appreciate that," she murmured, never letting her cautious eyes leave the wolf's face. She cut herself off there, wary.

The vixen snuck one quick glance over at Fox, both trying and see what he thought of the wolf's words and simply wanting to see the vulpine's kind face, to know she had a definite ally nearby. Of course, he still sat close to her, his loving eyes meeting hers as she looked over. The vulpine still looked concerned, knowing the pain she'd just been in, but he seemed happy to see her face again. He gave her a tiny smile, his expression letting her know that he was there for her while silently making sure that she was feeling better. She nodded once and returned his smile with a minuscule grin of her own, letting him know she was fine. No matter what happened, Fox would always be there for her. She made a small mental note in the back of her head, reminding herself to ask Fox about Cas' fearful feeling later. Maybe he would know more.

"I mean it," Cas picked back up, drawing both of their gazes back over to him. His face was still deadly serious, incredibly confident. "What that maniac has done to us, to everyone in this galaxy..." Krystal didn't need her telepathy to see the anger peaking in his expression. "He won't get away with it." He took a deep breath, expelling a long sigh from his chest in an attempt to calm himself. "Which, I suppose, is why I asked you to meet with me today in the first place." He turned to face Fox for his next question. "I heard you managed to retrieve the data sphere we were looking for on your last mission. Did you bring it with you?"

Fox nodded once in response, reaching one hand into his pocket to fish out the small object. "Yeah, I've got it right here." Just when the vulpine's fingers closed around its cold surface though, Cas stretched one cautionary hand out, stopping him before he could bring it out into the open.

"Wonderful. Let's do this somewhere less... public, though. You never know who's ears and eyes are wandering in such a big city." The wolf glanced around once, looking for any such eavesdroppers. He relaxed a little when he was only met with a few laughing couples, talking and joking over their meals as the last glimmers of daylight twinkled in through the blinds. "In fact, why don't we head back to my office?" The wolf gestured with his head towards the door, back towards the park. "It's certainly a fitting place to tour after seeing the Matchstick."

Krystal's eyebrows furrowed together, confused. "The Matchstick? What's that?" she asked, glancing between the other two. Fox's eyes went a little wide, looking as if he'd just remembered something that he'd forgotten to do. Cas glanced over at him too, a smirk playing on his lips, one eyebrow arched.

"Don't tell me you two were standing right by the Matchstick, and you somehow forgot to tell her about it, Fox?" Cas said, amused and incredulous.

"Uh... We got a little... sidetracked before you showed up," Fox said, ears glowing bright red at the memory of their accident at the fountain. An embarrassed grin snuck its way onto his face. "I didn't have time to tell her where we were," he explained. "That fountain from before is called the Matchstick. It's... a long story," he finished, adding on the last part when he noticed the vixen's expression growing even more perplexed.

Cas dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, setting it down on his empty plate once his mouth was clean. "You know, the park is on the way to our headquarters," the wolf said as he tapped on his communicator a few times. He touched the device to a small, bright screen that their waitress had dropped off earlier. After a moment, the device flashed green, and Krystal could make out the words 'Payment Authorized' scroll across the top. Cas looked back up after paying their bill, starting to slide out of the booth. "Let's head back there one more time. Every new visitor to the city should get a chance to see it. And... you might find a refresher on how the Matchstick works useful for later, Fox." He laughed when he saw a baffled expression now blooming on both of their faces. He only motioned for them to follow him again, already almost out the door, thanking their server for her help with a shining smile. Fox and Krystal glanced at each other from across their seat. They both chuckled and giggled simultaneously, each letting out a quick sigh before rushing out the door to catch up with the restless general.

/

Krystal shivered, the fur on her arms and legs beginning to stand on end. Now that the sun had almost set, the outdoors were growing much colder than she was used to. She rubbed her hands together, trying to work a little warmth back into her fingertips. In the back of her mind, the vixen desperately wished that she'd had the foresight to ask Fox for a jacket before they'd left the _Great Fox_ for the day. Now, all she could do was pretend that the weather didn't bother her. She instantly straightened up and feigned a relaxed look every time Fox's vision settled on her, not wanting him to worry. She saw the vulpine shrug once out of the corner of her eye, still looking a little suspicious of the peculiar way she was walking. Thankfully though, he didn't say anything. By the time the trio finally reached the fountain, she was beginning to consider the merits of making a dash for the nearest building in a last-ditch effort to avoid freezing.

Her thoughts of heating were soon interrupted though when Fox and Cas turned around, facing towards her and away from the fountain that she'd become all too familiar with earlier. The vulpine gestured toward it lightly, her eyes following his fingers up its surface. "This is the Matchstick. It's one of the better known landmarks around the city, right in the middle of... Well, everything."

Krystal looked it up and down for a little longer, her expression still addled, mouth pulled to one side. It was pretty, sure, but what was so special about it? It looked like any other fountain that she'd seen before. Certainly not one worth waiting out in this frigid temperature for. The vixen's gaze landed on Fox again after a moment, searching for some more explanation. He chuckled a little at the confusion on her face. His smile radiated out that endearing warmth she loved so much, warming her heart up ever so slightly.

"Look a little closer," he said, his voice growing soft. "At the water." He let one of his finger trail in the stream of liquid running down the fountain's face as he spoke, tiny droplets of water splashing up where his hand made contact. She squinted, turning the mysterious fixture over in her head a few more times. After a long second of standing still and watching... Her eyes suddenly shot wide open, surprise and shock written into every inch of her features.

Krystal forgot about the cold in a heartbeat, hardly able to believe what she was seeing. The vixen blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Each time her eyes opened though, she was met by the same impossible sight. Everything clicked in her mind from earlier, when the fountain had seemed odd but she hadn't been able to put her finger on exactly why that was.

She'd expected a few droplets of water to cascade down to the ground where the tips of Fox's fingers came in contact with the fountain, possibly sending off a light mist as they impacted against the metal grate underfoot. But... They didn't. Instead, they did something she couldn't understand, something that defied logic. Her nose and ears twitched, astonished. Small streams of water had started to run upwards over the bottom of Fox's hands, collecting not underneath, but on the top of his fingers, coalescing into tiny pools held together on the tips of his knuckles. The minuscule reservoirs began to fill up, quickly becoming quivering orbs of water, dangling upwards into midair. Krystal's lips parted into a silent gasp at the magical sight. The best was still to come though.

One of the beads of water soon reached its breaking threshold, growing too full to continue clinging to the vulpine's fur. However, instead of dropping down to the ground as all logic would say it should... The small droplet leapt up, flinging itself into the empty air. It drifted there for a moment, defying gravity as it curved back towards the fountain's surface, ultimately disappearing with a small splash as it rejoined the rest of the liquid. At that point, Krystal finally got a glimpse of the entire system at once. As incredible as the rest of Corneria City had been... This seemed like pure, undiluted magic. No amount of reasoning could possibly explain what she saw. Water wasn't flowing down the fountain.

It was flowing up.

The thin, glistening rivers of water were snaking their way up its smooth metal surface, bending around the small imperfections and dents in its surface. The rivulets were fed by the armada of small streams visible underfoot, all rushing inwards towards the heart of the park, eventually being lifted up here to collect in the beautifully sculpted basin at the very top. The vixen didn't say anything for a long moment, just staring at the impossible marvel in front of her. It was the culmination of everything that this city had to offer, a single symbol of everything that she'd come to love about this place. The fountain was the perfect intersection of the beautiful creativity and magical technology that this place thrived on. Krystal was shaken from her stupor when a few more droplets of water leapt off Fox's fingers, rising up into the air for a few moments before diving back towards the fountain with a small splash. She glanced back over at Fox, who dried his hand on his jacket before giving her one of his sweet, crooked grins. Clearly, he was enjoying seeing her so impressed and uncomprehending. She couldn't help but let out a quick laugh, both at his goofy expression and the impossible fountain.

"It's kind of neat, isn't it?" Fox said, his tail swishing behind himself. The vixen barely managed a quick nod in response.

"I've... I've seen better," she replied with her own disbelieving smile, getting a quiet chuckle out of the vulpine when he recognized her same line from earlier. "It... It's astounding. I wasn't lying when I said this place will never stop leaving me speechless." Fox just shrugged a little in the place of words. She looked the fountain over one more time, entranced by the sparkling water cascading up the its twisting form. "But, why is it called the Matchstick?" Krystal asked, eyes fixed on the shallow basin at the very top.

Fox shuffled his feet, twisting around to face the fountain as well. It seemed he was just as mesmerized by the fixture as she was. "Like I said, it's... a long story," he started. "A couple of years ago, the military managed to dig up some research that nobody had ever seen before. They didn't know where it came from or how it worked, but it looked promising. It was just a set of rough blueprints, scrawled out quickly and left in the corner of an old lab somewhere. No signature, no identification, just an anonymous idea." Fox pointed at a small metal hatch underneath the fountain that she hadn't noticed before. The words 'Inversion Access' were printed across its face. "The only problem was, it wasn't finished," the vulpine continued. "So, they hired a team of scientists to complete the work. After a couple of years, they managed to put something together. It was a machine they called the Entropy Inverter." The vixen looked between him and the fountain, catching his eyes in her own gaze. The amazement in her expression was tempered by newfound curiosity.

"So, is that device making the fountain do this? Where did the name Matchstick come from?" Krystal asked.

Fox nodded once. He seemed equally as entranced by the fountain as he was by the mix of wonder and disbelief clear on her features. "That's right. Their work powers all of it. All the technology should be right there, under that trapdoor," he said, pointing back to the metal grate. "As for the name... when they finally unveiled the finished device to the public, they gave a long, technical speech about how it all worked that went over most people's heads. Including mine," Fox chuckled. "From what I can remember, they said it let us directly decrease entropy in one place by increasing it in another, whatever that meant. The one part of the speech that people seemed to remember though was a video they played, showing it in action. It was just a short clip, but it was unbelievable. The scientists were burning a matchstick until it was just a black piece of char laying on a table. But then, when they turned their device on, the matchstick started burning in reverse. At the end of the video, the same matchstick was sitting there, completely unharmed. Nobody had ever seen anything like it before. It all seemed like sorcery. So, when they built this fountain using the same machine, it picked up the name pretty quickly."

Krystal's vision shifted back over to the fountain when Fox finished explaining, even more in awe than before. If this was just one way the Inverter could work... Her mind exploded into a frenzy, trying to imagine everything else it could do. As the gears in her mind spun though, something that Fox said seemed more and more peculiar. Her eyes narrowed slightly in thought. "But, something doesn't make sense. Why would the military be interested in this? It's beautiful, sure, but I hardly think you can weaponize prettiness."

Cas stepped towards the two of them then, moving to explain. "We were hoping that the Inverter could used as a sort of... engine, to power other devices. But, unfortunately, the technology they developed simply wasn't powerful enough. It could carry water up a fountain," he said, gesturing to the installation behind themselves, "but not much more than that. Scientists and engineers worked for months to make it more efficient, but nothing ever came of it." He shook his head, gaze finally resting on the fountain. "So, here the technology is. It's exquisite in its own right, but..." he shifted his weight into one foot, contemplative. "It's little more than a party trick these days."

Astonishment darted through the vixen's mind at that. Party trick was such an inconsequential term for a machine that seemed to be pulled straight out of an ancient fable. Her sight rested on the fountain for a few more seconds, totally absorbed by its tranquility. Water flowed up it steadily, in a constant rejection of the laws of the universe. Somehow, the scientists here had found a loophole in nature's rules. They were exploiting that catch simply because they could, not for any greater or more practical reason. Even the story behind it was mysterious. A set of anonymous blueprints for an unknown device found in a dusty corner, just waiting for the day where they'd be turned into something beautiful through years of cryptic and intricate research. The vixen rested her chin on a raised fist, drawn deeper into thought. Who could've possibly dreamed up the original idea for a machine like this? Surely, they would've stepped forward and claimed responsibility for inventing something so unusual. Her musing was cut short though when Cas cleared his throat. He tapped on his communicator a few times, shaking his head when he saw the time.

"I hate to rush your first real visit to the Matchstick," Cas' voice started from behind them, sounding apologetic, "but there's another meeting starting soon that I need to get to. And before that kicks off, I was hoping I could speak with Fox for a few minutes in my office." The wolf stuck his hands in his pockets when the two foxes finally tore their eyes off the mesmerizing fixture, turning their attention towards him. "Would you two mind heading over there with me?"

Fox checked his own communicator, shrugging once when nothing important presented itself on his schedule. "Fine by me. Do you want to come too, Krys?" A fleeting sparkle of mischievousness flashed behind his eyes, bringing an unexpected heat into her ears. "I promise we can come back here again later, if you haven't seen enough yet," he teased, aware of just how enraptured she was by the fountain. He threw a goofy, sideways grin her way, his sparkling jade eyes drawing a new rush of blood in her chest and face, making her need to stifle a giggle. The noise only made his expression grow more excited and happy, his entire face now radiating a cocky joy. She couldn't help but be drawn into his ecstatic gravity, meeting his expression with a content smile of her own.

Before, she'd only been able to feel the general warmth of his mind when he found himself in one of these bubbly moods. Now though, her telepathy could grasp and sense so much more lying just beneath the surface of his mind. A fleeting streak of sneaky, sly energy pulsed through his jubilance. Clearly, whatever had happened during their accidental embrace had made him just a little more bold, a little more willing to push back against her. Whether that was simply rooted in friendship, or... or hopefully something more intimate than that, she couldn't say. But at the moment, she simply dove into the sea of unique sensations that Fox's mind formed around her, letting his sudden confidence tease at the edges of her thinking.

As much as she loved seeing that devious glint in his face though... She squeezed her fingers together, trying to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upwards in excitement. Watching him stammer and blush was so much better. In the back of her head, a small plan formed, a perfect little idea that would turn the tables on his teasing. Before logic could protest her rash decision, she took a fast step towards him, letting her muzzle stop only an inch away from his. She wasn't going to take it slow this time. His sharp, cocky look crumbled almost instantly, she noticed with a small giggle.

She lifted one finger up, letting it trail lazily, deliberately up his torso, coming to a rest just underneath his soft chin. Fox's eyes widened at her sudden advance. He gulped once, but thankfully held his ground, not skittering away from her as she'd half expected he would. Instead, he just stared back at her, stunned into waiting for her next move. She hung there for a long second, taking in the mix of care and nervousness swirling in his eyes before finally continuing. She brought her hand up quickly from his chin, giving him a gentle flick on the forehead. The soft impact seemed to resonate with him, making his eyes blink a few times and forcing one of his ears to flutter anxiously. His brain finished rebooting at her touch, but he still couldn't seem to formulate a full sentence as he opened and closed his mouth a few times in rapid succession. While her orange vulpine was still grasping for words though, the vixen was already one step ahead of him.

"Is that so?" she murred in a soft voice, trying to convey as much adoration and love as she could in one sly look. "I'm holding you to that promise then, Foxy." When Krystal stepped back, the endearing expression on his face was just so tantalizingly cute. It only made her want to close the distance again, to shove her lips rough up against his this time. The brash confidence he'd teased her with from before was now intertwined and shaken up with an adorable stammering shyness, leaving him dumbfounded, blushing, and grinning all at once.

 _Goddesses... he's just so sweet._

The words crossed her mind as she spun around on her heel, purposefully letting the tip of her tail drag across his chest as turned to face the wolf behind them. Thankfully, Cas seemed not to have noticed any of their brief interaction, only just now looking up from his communicator. Its glowing screen shut off with a small _ping._

"Great! If you like the Matchstick, I bet you'll love our headquarters," Cas said, already moving away at top speed. "It's just a few minutes from here." The wolf was nearly down one of the paths snaking away from the fountain, but this time, Krystal was ready. She stepped in stride behind him, not letting him run off like before. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Fox rooted in place back where she'd left him by the fountain. She laughed a little at his silly expression, beckoning for him to catch up with one hand. Her quick motion seemed to jumpstart his short-circuiting mind. His eyes focused on her and his breathing settled into a more regular pattern. He jogged forward, catching up to the two of them after a few seconds. The vulpine looked over when he eventually fell in line beside her.

She could feel so many sensations ricocheting around his thoughts. Vaguely, she wondered if she'd ever get tired of letting them wash over her, of picking through each distinct feeling. Wonder, joy, care, awe... Sure, it was all tempered with an undeniable amount of confusion and uncertainty, but there was no mistaking that something had changed between the two of them. The vixen looked over as well, meeting Fox's expressive eyes with her own. After all, he'd said it himself. They were close. Partners. Maybe neither of them knew exactly what that meant, but she did know that being next to him like this made her feel safe. Made her feel content. Made her feel warm. And, at least for now, she let herself enjoy that.

However, with all that in mind, there was still one thing that Fox's boundless warmth still couldn't protect her from. Krystal shivered, the cold twilight air sneaking past her soft fur and slipping into her chattering bones. No matter how much she focused on the blazing furnace of his mind, it still couldn't keep out the incessant Cornerian cold. She rubbed her hands along her arms, trying to bring a little warmth back into them.

 _How do the people here cope with this?!_

She was beginning to sincerely regret not borrowing one of Fox's coats before leaving the ship. At this rate, she was going to be the temperature of an ice cube by the time she was out of the park, and just as blue thanks to her fur. The image of Fox having to push an ice sculpture version of herself along the sidewalk seemed all too possible in her head. Another powerful shiver coursed down her body, leaving her arms and legs shaking, her ears flattening back against her head. The adrenaline of the past few minutes had all but worn off now, leaving her acutely aware of how cruelly unprepared her tropical blood was for the chilly Cornerian nights. She wouldn't be able to take this for much longer, let alone for the entire walk to wherever Cas was taking them.

Just when she was seriously debating chopping down one of the nearby trees for firewood... One last miracle occurred.

Without warning, she felt something warm and thick wrap itself around her shoulders. It whisked the cold away as the feeling enveloped her, replacing the iciness with a toasty warmth that forced a small moan of relief from her lips. Krystal didn't even care what had brought about this more than welcome oasis. All that mattered for the next few seconds was the life-bringing heat that suddenly radiated into her frozen body.

Eventually, once she was safely pulled back from the brink of hypothermia, she glanced around to try and figure out exactly what had just come to her rescue. When the vixen finally figured out what it was, it was her turn to descend into a blushing mess.

Standing directly next to her was Fox, looking down at her with a wide, satisfied grin. He had his jacket shrugged off of one arm, and instead of using it to warm only himself, he'd draped it around her other shoulder, letting it blanket both of them simultaneously. The vulpine now walked right next to her, his side pressing up against hers, his body heat flowing out and encasing her in its protective comfort. There was a hint of embarrassment on his face, but it was nothing compared to the rush of blood that flushed her chest and throat in that moment. She stumbled for anything to say, but was instantly hushed by the sheer adoration and care flowing from him in that moment. Her lips parted a little as she took it all in, the love in his handsome face, the heat from his protective body, the electricity from his quick mind. He'd managed to turn her into a blue ball of fluster with just one simple little action. And... She didn't mind.

The initial shock of Fox's move began to fall off of her, leaving her heart to swell and her tail to fluff in excitement. That one word that Fox had used to describe their relationship still resonated in her head, a siren song that she never wanted to forget.

 _Close._

In every sense of the word, she knew it was true. They were physically close now, as Fox shared his own warmth with her. Her grin only widened when she huddled in closer to him, pushing up against his frame. Krystal lifted his arm up, letting it fall around her shoulders as she nestled into the crook of his arm, her head nuzzling in just underneath his chin. She could feel a surge of heat wash over his body, mimicking the fire that pulsed in her own veins too. The muscles in his arms and neck tensed for a long moment, but eventually he relaxed just enough to pull her in closer to him. Her heart melted at the small gesture.

It was more than just physical attraction though. Fox was someone that she wanted to tell everything to. She trusted him. She wanted to be there for him, just like he was there for her. If she wasn't sure about it before, she was now. Somehow, she was going to keep him close. Somehow, she was going to stay right next to her loving, orange miracle for the rest of her life. She'd prove to him that she could be on Star Fox. She'd do anything to earn her place.

The three walked on like that for a while. Eventually, they left the park behind as they entered into the hectic night-time Cornerian streets. The two foxes walked side-by-side for a comfortable few minutes, not even the extravagant lights and sights of the city managing to pierce their solitary, private world together.

/

A/N: Hooooolllyyyy crap guys. This chapter took _forever_ to finish. College has been absolutely killed this semester, so I've had barely any time to work on this. Literally, once I got _Curtain Call_ posted, I barely had any time to write anything. But it's finally up now! As hard as this chapter was, I do like how it's turned out. I think. I dunno, there are parts of this I'm will not happy with, but after looking at this chapter for two straight months, I'm done with it. Still plenty o' fluff, but things are starting to pick up now that Cas is around to kick off the plot. Hopefully y'all like it.

Anyway, thanks as usual to everyone who's been reviewing, faving and following! I really do love this story so much, and it's always nice to be reminded that it's not just me who enjoys inordinate amounts of Fox and Krystal being goofy love bugs around each other. Thanks to FurFur and Xengo to their advice and input into all of this, even if they refused to slow down their publishing train for me. :P Also, and I know I end up saying this basically every chapter, but I gotta give a shout out to Sani here. This chapter was originally just one big, unending conversation, which was getting way out of hand and hard to read. He came up with the idea for them getting dinner and whatnot, which let me split it up into a few more manageable chunks and also let us get to know a bit more about the newcomer. Thanks Sani! We'd probably still be on the blue couch if it weren't for your help. :P

Alrighty, I'll leave it at that. I'm not sure if I'll try to get Curtain Call or the next chapter of this out next. I might try to write both of them simultaneously and see which one starts coming out better. But anyway, I hope you liked this! Stay tuned for more Star Fox goodness in... Well, hopefully the near future. Buh-bye!


	7. Act I: Chapter 7 Reclaim

Chapter 7 | Reclaim

Being the Hero of Lylat came with a few distinct advantages. It was pretty easy to make dinner reservations at the last minute. Just about everybody on the street wanted his autograph. Buying supplies for the Great Fox usually came with a pretty hefty discount. All things considered, it was a useful card to play when the time presented itself. One place his status did not help him, unfortunately, was in the security checks for Cas' office. After the countless times he'd put his neck on the line for the Cornerian military over the years, Fox had hoped that his screening process would've grown slightly more relaxed. This was not the case. Even with the General himself authorizing his clearance, he'd still been through more metal detectors and pat-downs since he walked in than he could count. Currently, he was in middle of another round of searches, rolling his eyes as a thick pair of gloved hands rustled the insides of his calves.

As cautious as they were with him, Krystal hadn't even been able to accompany him further than the main lobby, lacking any real documentation or ID. Once they were indoors, she'd finally stepped out from under his coat, peering up at him with a bright blush burning on her face, and an uncharacteristically meek smile on her lips that still managed to stop his heart. Fox had shaken his head to clear it when he caught himself staring, chalking the blood rushing to the vixen's throat as her simply being cold. It couldn't be anything more than that, right? In either case, she'd assured him that she would be fine waiting on her own for a while, giving him a warm look before striding over and taking a seat on a nearby couch. Krystal had shooed him away with one hand after a moment, laughing when she caught him memorizing the details of her mesmerizing figure swaying across the room.

Even though his vetting process ended up taking nearly half an hour, it seemed to fly by faster than that, mostly because his thoughts kept drifting back to that stunning, brave blue fox. So much had developed between the two of them over the past month, even just the past few hours. He needed some time alone to parse their interaction at the Matchstick, and try to feel out exactly where the two of them stood now. A particularly unsympathetic guard grunted as he dished out yet another rough body search, checking his pockets for a concealed weapon that didn't exist. It didn't bother the tod. He was lost in his own world, occupied solely by himself and Krystal. His reverie was soon interrupted by the guard's gruff voice, however.

"You're free t' go," the officer muttered, vaguely motioning towards the far end of the checkpoint he'd been trapped in for so long. The vulpine let out a sigh as he pushed off the wall, feeling the cords in his arms and back pull taut as he stretched himself out. He turned to thank the guard, but he was already buried back in his terminal, no doubt typing up another clean bill for his personal file. Fox shrugged, taking the hint and instead stepping through the door. A nostalgic smile broke out across his mouth when he did, a burst of cool air running over his fur, instantly washing away the stuffy atmosphere he'd just emerged from. In front of him was the sprawling expanse that he'd grown so accustomed to in the early years of the war. He craned his head back, losing himself momentarily in the endlessness of the Cornerian Heart.

The structure around him was a jigsaw puzzle of tapering steel beams, wide sheets of sleek glass, and smooth blocks of sterile concrete, sculpted into a perfect cylinder that extended for miles and miles above the planet's surface. The last glimmering rays of orange and purple twilight pierced through the clouds, casting long shadows behind the abundant flowers and trees planted indoors. Even in the late hours, the command center was still as hectic as ever, with groups of coworkers in sharp military garb poring over documents and important looking strategists walking into and out of the elevators. Fox watched as one pair of doors closed, rumbling in place before shooting upwards at a breakneck pace and quickly disappearing out of view. He'd need to catch one of those elevators. Unfortunately he needed a special lift, one dedicated to Cas and the people he worked closest with. Fox groaned a little. He'd have to talk to the receptionist in order to call it.

The tod strode over towards the center of the space, where a busy-looking ocelot typed furiously at his keyboard and scribbled notes on the holoscreen atop his desk. A few people frowned at him in his peripheral vision, shooting dirty looks when they thought he wasn't watching. Fox did his best to ignore them. Even if the public generally loved Star Fox and all the good they'd done for Lylat, most of the military still looked down on mercenaries as flaky, unreliable hired guns who swung between sides at the drop of a hat. It didn't help that he'd been part of the military originally, before restarting the team. A lot of people saw him as a traitor for leaving. And, given the way the receptionist wrinkled his nose when he saw the vulpine approaching, Fox didn't have high hopes for this feline being much different.

"Good evening… sir," the ocelot said, the last word rolling off his tongue with just enough acid to make the vulpine wince. "Welcome to the Heart. I'm sure there's something you'd like my help with, yes? Maybe just looking for the bathroom?" Fox bit back a sigh.

"I'm here to see General Black," the tod responded flatly. With everything that had happened today, he didn't have the energy to fight back. The ocelot arched one eyebrow at him disbelievingly.

"General Black?" he asked, sounding skeptical. The feline's lip twitched upwards at the corner. "Perhaps you meant somebody else. Maybe our custodian, Kyle Black?"

It took all of Fox's self-restraint not to snap back at the ocelot for harassing him and holding him up like this. "Please, just check his schedule. My name is there," he muttered.

The feline rolled his eyes in a long arc, letting out an impressive sigh before glancing back down at his monitor and entering a few keystrokes in. Fox couldn't help but feel a little smug when a look of surprise passed over the ocelot's eyes, followed by a flash of realization that the person he'd been mocking was about to meet with his boss' boss' boss. Fear sparked behind his eyes. His back straightened up instantly, any hint of sarcasm vanished from his tone.

"Ah, of - of course, I have you penciled in right here, Captain McCloud," he stammered out. "The elevator is w-waiting for you, right back there." The feline motioned hurriedly behind himself, pointing at a set of doors that had just slid open. Fox nodded once.

"Thanks," he replied, doing his best to hold down the satisfied smile that was trying so hard to plaster itself on his face. He pushed off the desk, turning around and heading towards the doors with just a bit more spring in his step. People here might look down on him because he was a mercenary, but even they couldn't deny the truth. Star Fox had done more for the Cornerian effort than almost anyone else, both their current trio and his parents before him. Fox felt the familiar ice creep through his muscles that always came bundled with thinking about his parents, old memories simmering to the surface of his thoughts. He shook his head though, blinking a few times as the elevator doors closed behind him. Now wasn't the time to dwell on the past. It was time to think about what the future held for him. For his team. For Krystal.

The data sphere resting in his pocket suddenly felt heavy, weighing down like an orb of solid iron. He fished it out into the open, letting his eyes slip over the contours of its surface for the millionth time. It shined dully in the low light, glare glinting off the interlocking faces of black plastic and stainless steel, its exterior only marked with a serial code and a single M engraved in the back. The floor rumbled beneath his feet, and after another second he was rocketing away from the ground, the rude receptionist morphing into a grain of sand in the distance. He traced one claw along the grooves in the orb's surface until he stopped at the rectangular port sunk into its front. What could be stored on it that was so important? Why had he gone all that way for something so small? His fingers clenched around it, making his hand shake just a little. What could possibly be hidden in this small clump of plastic and metal that was worth destroying a planet over? That was worth slaughtering all those innocent lives? Fox gulped, his vision blurring a little at the next thought to bubble into his head. That was worth almost killing Krystal over?

He leaned back against the wall of the elevator, letting loose a drawn out sigh. He'd have his answers soon enough. If anyone knew what was happening, if anyone could help him get even with the evil ape that had shattered the vixen's life, it was Cas. The hollow expression that haunted Krystal's deep, beautiful eyes only gave him another reason to wipe that maniac off the face of the universe.

In the meantime though, Fox had every intention of making a new home for the blue fox with himself. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and he knew better than anyone what that felt like. He'd be there for her, for as long as she wanted him there. If he was lucky enough, maybe she would stay with him on the Great Fox. The vulpine knew that the ship would feel empty without her radiance onboard at this point. He still hadn't worked up the courage to ask her to stay though, his invitation to Star Fox still stuck on the tip of his tongue. He wanted nothing more than for the vixen to join them, for her to sail the stars right alongside him. The image of them spending night after night together in the lounge, of them falling asleep in each other's arms, on each other's shoulders, made him weak in the knees. The blue fox could more than hold her own in a fight too, something they clearly needed some help with after their previous run in. He felt a surge of confidence pulse through his veins, making his fur stand on end and his heart swell. Fox would ask her to join. He had to. After that, he could only hope the vixen would even consider joining him.

Fox was shaken out of his thoughts by the lift clattering to a sudden halt, the tile underfoot shuddering just a little as the e-diffuser absorbed most of the sudden acceleration. The door opposite him opened, revealing a small waiting room painted with warm oranges and reds. He stepped out into it, the hot air and its spiced cinnamon scent wafting into his nose. As the elevator doors chimed shut behind him, his eyes drifted between the abstract paintings hanging on the walls and the dark oak furniture arranged across the space. The entire waiting room was cozy, the furniture ornate and overstuffed, the windows small portals to the clouds floating lazily by. As his sight drifted along, he finally came to a rest on a desk settled in the corner, with binders and folders stacked neatly atop each other, and several large monitors glowing with information. Behind all of those was a red, female avian, her plumage peppered with black feathers and a pair of thin glasses settled above her beak. He was sure that Falco would have tried to flirt with her until he was red in the face, but he knew it wouldn't even faze this particular bird. She readjusted her glasses on her nose, a polite smile forming on her face when she made eye contact with the vulpine.

"Good evening, Captain McCloud," she said cordially. "How are you tonight?"

Fox smiled back, her warmth a breath of fresh air amidst the coldness being directed towards him. "Nice to see you again, Delilah. I'm doing fine," he said, walking over towards her desk. He leaned against the wall next to them, crossing his arms as his eyes scanned her desk. Impeccably organized, as usual. Delilah was Cas' secretary, and had been for years. However, she wasn't part of the military, unlike everyone else in the building. Cas had hired her separately, insisting on filling the position with someone he could personally trust to get the job done correctly. She'd taken over the role with incredible results. Delilah was sharp as a whip, and just about the most organized person alive. Fox wasn't exaggerating when he said that this woman singlehandedly kept the entire Cornerian military in line. More importantly though, the fact that she wasn't military meant that she'd never given him the cold shoulder.

"Why does everyone insist on calling me by that old title today though?" the tod asked, rolling his eyes and grinning. "You know I'd prefer it if you just called me Fox."

The avian leaned back in her chair, setting her pen down and smirking a little. "Stop commanding the most important Cornerian warship we have first, and then we'll discuss names, Captain."

Fox chuckled at that. "What about you, then? I know Cas wouldn't be able to go five minutes without steering a cruiser into an asteroid without your help. Does that mean I have to call you Captain Briggs?"

The red bird shrugged her shoulders at that, picking her pen back up and tapping a few times on the screen in front of her. "If you'd like, I'd certainly have no objection to that. Maybe we should save the small talk for another time though." The avian swiped up on her screen, making the communicator on his wrist flash with a new access code. "That will get you into the General's office for your meeting."

"Thanks," Fox said, giving the code a cursory examination. He pushed off the wall, striding towards the hallway behind them. "I'll see you later, Captain Briggs," he joked, throwing her one last glance over his shoulder. She pushed her glasses back up her beak, arching one eyebrow at him in amusement before returning back to her work.

After wandering down the maze of corridors that was Cornerian high command, Fox found himself face-to-face with a pair of heavy doors. They were solid wood, imprinted with blocky geometric designs snaking from the top down to the hinges. On the front was a simple nameplate, printed in large white text:

CASPIAN BLACK

Fox took a deep breath, restraining a little twinge of fear that pricked in the back of his mind. He was afraid of the answers that Cas might have for him. Afraid they might only make matters worse, might send Krystal spiraling back into the black void she'd barely managed to claw her way out of. If Krystal slipped back into that catatonic state she'd struggled so violently to break free from… Fox knew he couldn't stomach that. Seeing the vixen's blank eyes again would break him.

He steeled himself after a moment though. She deserved to know what happened to her planet, her people, her family. The vixen deserved justice just as badly as he did. Even if the path in front of them was littered with jagged shards of hurt, the blue fox was tough, brave. She could handle anything the universe dished out to her.

 _And I'll be right by her side every step along the way._

Fox took the cool metal handle in his hand, its sculpted surface pressing into his palm. He creaked the door open, letting a beam of light spill out through the crack. The door groaned shut behind him with a soft click. Fox blinked a few times to readjust to the brightness. Once his eyes had acclimated, he let his hand down from his brow, taking in the peculiar room laid out before him.

The first thing most people noticed about Cas' office was just how grand it was. The room was massive, decorated with fine leather furniture, flecked marble columns, muted brown wooden floors and coal black walls. True to form, there were virtually no bookshelves in the room, aside from a small one tucked away in corner that was sparsely populated by a few thin volumes. His desk was notably bare as well, save a few pads of paper and a holoscreen. The General never had placed much stock in theory or abstract ideas, not even back during their time at the Academy. He'd always hated sitting still, preferring to spend his time tinkering and fiddling with projects. Cas wanted practical answers, orders that could be executed and return hard results, even if that was met with failure the first time. This led to the wolf spending most of his time around his real tool of choice: a single holotable in the center of the room that constantly ran the simulations and tactics that popped into his head.

Fox glanced over at the table now, and sure enough, he saw Cas' white figure bent over the glowing screen, holograms popping up and hovering all around him. The light thrown up from its surface illuminated his face in an ethereal blue, tinting the fur around his muzzle in a delicate cyan. The lupine's eyes darted back and forth in rapid succession, one of his hands snapping up to adjust a hologram every few seconds. Cas was completely absorbed in his own world of probability and maneuvers, unaware that Fox had walked into his office. The tod cleared his throat after a second, shuffling in place awkwardly. The wolf's ears twitched towards the sound, bringing his eyes up curiously. A smile bloomed on his face when they made eye contact across the way.

"Fox! Glad you could make it," Cas yawned, stretching his back out as he uncurled himself from over his simulations. "I assume it was just as much of an ordeal as always to get up here?"

The vulpine chuckled a little, images of the last half hour of scrutinization popping into his mind. "You could say that. I'm used to it by now though," he shrugged, stepping up the elevated platform Cas was working on. His eyes scanned over the table briefly, but as usual, he couldn't make heads or tails of the mass of ships and space debris that flicked in and out of existence on the display.

The lupine shook his head and crossed his arms. "I don't know how many times I've told them to lighten up on your screening process, honestly! Heaven forbid Falco ever try to make it up here, he might end up detained." The mental image of the avian squawking and spewing profanities while being dragged away made an amused breath escape Fox's lips.

"I wouldn't worry about him ever coming around here," Fox smirked. "I'm pretty sure Falco is allergic to hard work. All the productivity in this building might kill him." Cas laughed at that, the smile on his face and the energy in his eyes blooming.

"So nothing's changed since the Academy then," he remarked, his strong voice twinkling. He arched one eyebrow at the vulpine after a moment, giving him a look not dissimilar to Lily's grin earlier. A small pang of nervousness appeared in the tod's stomach, knowing all too well what Cas was about to bring up. "I suppose that's not entirely true though, now is it?" he started. "After all... I think the last time I saw you with a girl was when you and Fara were still together."

Fox gulped, sweat beading on his palms. Why was everybody bent on egging him about the blue fox? Was it that obvious that he was head over heels in love with her? "Y-yeah," he stammered out, looking to change the subject. The last thing he needed was to try and sort out his feelings in front of Cas. He'd have a hard enough time doing that on his own. "Like I said, we rescued her back on Cerinia. Krystal's been through a lot, over the past few weeks. It's incredible how brave she is, and how much she's been able to overcome..." he trailed off, his eyes misting over as the perpetual image of the beautiful vixen bubbled to the surface of his mind. The lupine snickering and shifting his weight to his other foot broke Fox free of his trance. A blush immediately broke out underneath his fur when he realized he'd already been caught daydreaming. He berated himself internally, veering the conversation back on course. "Actually, Cas... speaking of her, I know we both have a lot of questions about what happened back there." His tail flicked behind himself, anxious. "For her sake, I was hoping you might be able to give us some answers.

The white wolf nodded slowly, his eyes turning serious. He might be bright and bubbly in casual conversation, but they made him General for a reason. Cas took his responsibility seriously. "I understand, and I'll tell you anything you want. It's the least I can do, with everything that's gone so awry," he said, morose. "But first, we should talk about what you picked up back on the planet. I think that should clear away a lot of your confusion. Do you still have the sphere with you?"

Fox reached one hand inside his pocket. The fur on his fingers tingled against the metal and bumpy plastic. Its chrome surface gleamed in the bright light outside his jacket, white from the overhead lights and blue from the table below. The tod hesitated for just a moment before setting it in the wolf's extended hand. Genocide had been committed because of whatever was on that sphere. Everyone that Krystal had known and loved, murdered over its secrets. The stab of pain that ripped through his heart at that thought was surely nothing compared to the void that had been wrought in the vixen's chest. The mass of all those lost lives weighed down the orb in his hand. Its gravity didn't lift even after Cas removed the circle from his grasp, its phantom density still lingering behind.

"I think the best place to start is why I sent you down there to begin with," Cas began, coupling the small port in the sphere's face up with his table. White lines began to luminesce on it as it awoke from dormancy. Cas typed a few keystrokes into his display, clearing away all of the clutter to the edges of the screen and leaving a blank canvas in the middle. After a few more clicks, a new directory appeared in the empty space, along with a single, blinking prompt for a username and password. The wolf entered the necessary information, but stopped before he'd finished, instead glancing over towards the vulpine.

"I don't think I need to say this, but what you're going to see here is sensitive. Please," he said, his eyes piercing and somber, "keep this on a need to know basis." Fox nodded after a moment in silent agreement, earning a small sigh from Cas' lips. His eyes shifted forward, locking back onto the glowing screen. "Well then, I think it's high time I brought you up to speed on the biggest threat facing Corneria today: Reclaim." With that, he tapped a final button, the screen blazing to life in front of him while the soft click still echoed across the room.

Videos, images, and audio files all sprang up in front of Fox, enough information thrown at him at once to make his head spin. His eyes scanned across the display, but his confusion only tied itself in knots as he flicked from document to document, trying to connect the dots. Pictures of scientists in biohazard suits and gas masks, videos of white smoke laced with jagged trails of sickly green, scrolling lists of names and headshots. In the middle was the most curious part of it all, a final mystery to top the rest. It was the data pulled off of the sphere itself, but it wasn't a blueprint, a profile, or a plan. Instead, a series of shapes and lines hovered above the surface, rotating and shifting muted colors every few seconds. Fox put one hand under his chin, considering what it could be. His eyes widened when the pieces of the puzzle beginning to fit together in his mind.

"It's a chemical," Fox murmured, racking his brain for the little chemistry they'd taught him back at the Academy. "It's… organic. It's not some kind of weapon, is it?" Fox asked hurriedly, a spike of fear being driven through his heart that he may have just recovered a deadly chemical weapon.

Cas shook his head, grabbing the holographic compound and projecting it upwards, leaving it to spin in front of them. "No. Unfortunately, you're not far off the mark though." The lupine reached a second hand down, bringing up one of the videos drifting around the screen. The image loaded after a moment, expanding to fill the table. "Here," the lupine said, somber, "you should watch this." Fox's eyes narrowed, transfixed on the scene as it was brought into focus.

At first, everything on screen seemed calm. The frame showed a few soldiers resting in the desert, two lounging under the shade of a canopy while a third knelt down with a rifle pressed into his shoulder, scanning the horizon slowly for movement. The harsh sun glinted off one of the buttons on their tan uniforms, creating a little blossom of color in the corner of the screen whenever she shifted into a more comfortable position. The camera jostled slightly as the fourth soldier it was attached to readjusted in his seat. In the back of his head, Fox realized the footage must have been extracted from one of the standard issue cameras attached to most marine's gear. In the background, a small swirl of sand puffed into the air before being carried off into the blistering sun, revealing several other clusters of garrisoned marines dotting across the dune.

In any other context, Fox would've thought this was just another normal day on the war front of Titania, a calm afternoon spent patrolling an isolated base or outpost. A pit was already forming in the bottom of Fox's stomach though, his insides twisting up in anticipation. Whatever Cas was about to show him would be anything but peaceful. The vulpine waited for endless seconds with his eyes glued to the screen, holding his breath in anticipation of everything going horribly wrong.

That was when the first shell detonated.

In the corner of the screen, a sudden shockwave ripped through a distant pack of the soldiers. The tod jumped in place as he watched, caught off guard despite his primed nerves. A plume of sand jetted into the air where the group had just been, instantly enveloping the area in debris and obscuring it from view. The three soldiers in the frame all whipped around when the low, loud sound of an explosion roared past their ears. One of them stumbled to his feet, drawing his weapon in his off hand. There was nothing he could do though.

A violent cloud of gas leapt upwards from the impact site, billowing meters into the air before the soldiers even had a chance to blink. Thick ropes of white smoke lashed out, clawing at the open air as they climbed towards the sky. The reaction had only just begun, however. Fox watched with morbid curiosity as a dark green spot appeared in the billowing cloud. Another followed soon after, and another, and another. Soon, thin green tendrils had woven themselves around the entire bank, overlapping and crisscrossing each other. It was almost beautiful, Fox couldn't help but think to himself.

Until, suddenly, a burst of gunfire blasted through the video.

The soldiers all stumbled backwards as soon as the ripping noise hit their ears, tripping over each other. The camera shook and wavered when one of the other soldiers backed into the fourth marine. None of them were given a lull in the action to recover or react, however. More gunfire bombarded the microphone, while bright muzzle flashes and streaking laser fire peppered the screen. One of the soldiers tried to shoulder their rifle, but it was an empty gesture. A fatal shriek rang through the speakers, and in the distance a plume of red mist bloomed in the air. Off camera, one of the soldiers whispered a short, disbelieving profanity at the sight. Fox's head snapped up, meeting Cas' eyes. He opened his mouth to try and ask what had just happened, but the lupine only held one finger up, motioning for him to continue watching. The vulpine bit his lip, but ultimately swiveled back towards the screen. Misted blood mixed into the dissipating smoke, being carried off with the breeze. Nobody could believe their eyes.

Then the second wave hit.

Another geyser of sand erupted from the ground, enveloping a second, closer group of soldiers. Their eyes were forced to stay on the move, snapping to the side when another explosion tore through a third group, this time the sound roaring through the video when the group of soldiers directly next to them was absorbed by the desert. One of the marines in the frame tried to scramble out of their bunker to safety, but it was too late. An indiscernible blast of sound crackled in Fox's ears and darkness shrouded the video. The tod's fingers clenched around the table, knowing the soldiers they'd been observing had suffered a direct hit from whatever was causing all of this.

Fox was powerless to stop the scene unfolding in front of him as the particles of sand streaming past the lens gave way to the same powdery smoke he'd seen pouring out of the ground before. The tan bled into the dark grey and white, which in turn began to flash with ropes of sickly green. Hissing smoke and wheezing coughs streamed from the video. For a long minute, the vulpine sat with his eyes glued to the screen, his attention rapt on what he'd see when the smokescreen cleared.

A glint of sunlight managed to pierce through a hole in the smoke as it dissipated into nothingness. Fox squinted his eyes in an effort to make out the figures in the frame that were coming back into focus. Two shivering masses took up the majority of the frame, with a third barely visible in the background. The camera was level with the floor now that all of the soldiers had fallen to the dirt. For a long, seemingly infinite moment, their shivering was the only movement in the entire room. Fox, Cas, even the air in the room hung still in time, waiting. The silence on the screen and in the room was only broken when the third marine rose to his knees.

In the very back of the frame, the last soldier shifted and shook in the sand, eventually forcing himself up to his knees. Fox's eyes locked onto his face, scouring his expression for any hint at what might be amiss. Maddeningly though, the only thing the vulpine could see was the soldier's eyes clenched shut, his entire face wrinkled up like he was suffering from a piercing headache. A low groan escaped his lips as he knelt down with one hand clutching at his temple.

"That gas..." Cas murmured next to the vulpine's ear, making him jump a little in surprise. "I've never seen anything like it." On the screen, the soldier finally pushed himself up onto one shaky hand, his lips curling back in pain and baring one gleaming fang. Small trails of sand drifted away where his knuckles curled in the ground, contorting in agony. His whole body lurched and trembled. The marine looked like he was on the edge of a breakdown. He finally opened his eyes haltingly, squinting as if he was staring directly into the afternoon sun even though his head was craned down to the desert. Fox gulped when he finally glimpsed the soldier's irises. There was a faraway look in them, unfocused and misty. A shudder ran down the tod's spine when the feline's head lifted up to look directly into the camera, finally finding an anchor in reality.

"It targets cortisol production and sensory perception in the brain," Cas explained, sounding solemn, glancing away from the video slightly at what was soon to come. "About a minute after first contact, symptoms start to appear," he whispered. The end of his sentence was punctuated by a small breath from the marine in question. It was ragged, like the action of breathing itself was tearing down his throat. His eyes grew wider and wider with each passing moment, fear chiseling itself into his features. He stumbled backwards in horror, recoiling away from some invisible assailant that Fox couldn't see. The vulpine looked up for some explanation. Cas' face was grave, and all he witnessed was nauseous contemplation on the wolf's face. Fox opened his lips to ask where this was heading, but he was cut off before he could say anything. The vulpine's head snapped back to the board when a second blood-curdling scream ripped out from the speakers surrounding him, pinning his ears flat back against his skull.

The soldier had previously looked frightened and disoriented, but now that Fox's vision whipped back around to the monitor, he looked horribly, utterly terrified. His dark brown eyes tore from side to side. His mouth was twisted into an agonizing cry, teeth bared at an unseen threat. His body shook violently as his muscles drew into iron, nearly knocking himself down under the force of his own tremoring. The fur on Fox's back stood on end as he watched the man writhe in an effort to escape his unknown peril. Never in all his years as a mercenary had he seen such pure fear. All semblance of restraint had been rended from his body, leaving only a feral, terrified animal behind.

Without warning, the man's hand leapt to his belt, fumbling wildly with the restraint that held his blaster in next to his hip. Ripping velcro overlaid the sounds of his frantic cries when the soldier finally undid the clasp around his weapon. In an instant the gun was clutched desperately between his shaking hands, the barrel wavering like a leaf in the wind.

"The compound stimulates vivid hallucinations in the vision, sound, touch, and olfactory cortexes of the brain. The elevated cortisol levels induce a state of intense stress and elevated aggression," Cas said, pained. Fox wasn't watching the wolf standing next to him though. He was watching the marine aim his weapon all around him, a frenzied look in his dilated pupils. He was looking for a target. He needed to find the source of his horror. And within a few moments, the soldier onscreen finally found what he was searching for.

Fox's eyes were glued to the screen when the end of the soldier's weapon finally settled still, aimed directly at the camera - and the soldier it was attached to. A blinding flash of light erupted from the center of the screen, and just as quickly the recording faded into a hushed static.

There was no sound in Cas' office aside from the disturbed breathing of the two canines and the ominous static of the destroyed camera feed. Fox could hardly process what he'd just seen. He'd spent a grueling proportion of his life on the battlefield, both as a mercenary and in the military before that. He knew from experience that the bonds formed under enemy fire were some of the strongest a person could make. A cold shiver rattled the vulpine to his core. Despite that, all it took was a breath of gas to transform that soldier from a dedicated hand on the war front into... into... Fox struggled to find the word he was looking for. The man acted like he'd been possessed. Only a monster could so easily be enticed into gunning down their brothers and sisters.

"This has happened all across Lylat, Fox," Cas said, finally tapping a few buttons on his display to end the video. The static faded from the screen while the lights flickered back into their previous incandescence. The tod's green eyes squinted into the brightness, barely noticing the readouts returning to their places amidst his shock. "Andross has been testing his new weapon again and again on our forces, fine tuning its effects. It's called the Regionally Encrypted Cortisol Leap Anomalous Illusion Magnifier, or Reclaim. Inhalation of the gas leads to acute paranoia, stress, and hallucinations. Victims project those hallucinations onto the people around them, and... you saw what happens after that."

Fox could only gaze forward, staring absently out past the confines of their room and into the sea of clouds floating by. It was disturbingly calm juxtaposed next to the horrors he'd just seen. The wolf took the tod's pale face, his white knuckles, and his angry silence as permission to continue. "When we heard the first reports, our best scientists threw themselves into making a cure. There had to be a cure," he growled through gritted teeth, seemingly cursing himself. "But after months of failed trials, it was still a massacre anywhere Andross decided to gas our troops. See, it's more than just a hallucinogen... it's a lock. A bad dream that never ends," Cas said, sighing and leaning against his table.

"Once the gas enters the body, it does more than just bind to a few receptors and wreak some temporary havoc, like most hallucinogens do. This gas attaches to the brain, and then permanently folds the neurons in the regions of the brain responsible for sensory perception, imaginative processing, and hormone regulation." Cas brought a few new holograms up, this time of a chain of long nerves bending and knotting around each other. "You'd think that twisting a bunch of nerves in a person's head would kill them instantly, but... this gas doesn't work like that. When Reclaim is done with its dirty work, the new structure of the victim's mind sends it into a state of unrestricted lucid imagination, since the part of the brain responsible for imagination has been stuck in overdrive. Breaking sensory perception means those bad dreams feed directly into all of their senses, and breaking hormone regulation means their body will produce an unchecked amount cortisol, leading to acute stress and fear."

Cas pulled a new window onto the screen, this time a list of victims that had succumbed to the gas. "In effect, it traps the brain in an unstoppable state of fast-paced, dark creativity. People who are used to working with their brains and are accustomed to either critical thinking or creativity tend to be able to withstand the effects for longer, but the end result has always been fatally inevitable."

Fox shook his head, still trying to regain his composure. "So what stops us from just unfolding the nerves?" he asked.

Cas shrugged, looking defeated. "In theory, we could inject some nanites into the victim, and have those repair the damage. But this gas is smart. It doesn't just fold the neurons, it ties them." The diagram in front of them began to zoom out, illustrating a growing web of intertwined nerves, first a hundred, then a thousand, and so on until it was little more than an indiscernible labyrinth of strings. "The new architecture of the victim's brain is quite literally encrypted, like you'd see in a computer. Only here, the lock's information is stored in the knots instead of electric bits, trapped in its overactive position until we find the key."

"Finding the key," Cas continued, turning back to his table, "that's where the Cerinians came in." The word immediately shook Fox out of his reverie, flagging his ears up high as the lupine pulled up a new image on the board in front of them of a small research station hidden deep in the forest. Something about it tugged at the back of the vulpine's mind, eerily familiar and making his tail twitch in anticipation. Then it clicked.

 _This was the research station on Cerinia. The one I got the data sphere from, before I met... her._

"Our best physicians were stumped," Cas continued, even as Fox spent most of his attention absorbed in the photo of a place he thought he would never see again. "But the Cerinians... For all their adamant refusal of progress," he said with a slight sour tone to his words, "they understood technologies and medicines of the mind better than anybody. Within a few months, they had the cure." When Fox looked up at the wolf, instead of seeing the relief that sentence normally implied, he only witnessed a look of bitter, crushing defeat.

"Unfortunately, that was the day Andross decided to burn the planet to ashes. We're not sure how he caught wind of such a top secret project, but the outcome was swift and violent. Half of his army was mobilized within hours, with the sole intent of securing that research for themselves. We sent you to retrieve the data on what was supposed to be a peaceful mission, but clearly it ended up being anything but. If they had managed to get their hands on the cure, the results would've been catastrophic. Luckily for us, the head researcher performed one last heroic act before Venomians could storm her facility." The wolf tapped on a file scattered to the edge of his screen, bringing a new picture to the center of the screen. It was of a female fox who was slightly older than himself, with the same brilliant blue fur as Krystal. She stared up at Fox through the screen with piercing steel-grey eyes. A bead of sweat trailed down his back under her cold scrutiny.

"Meet Doctor Aurelia, the premier Cerinian scientist leading the search for a cure. In the final hour of her life, the doctor took the blueprint for the finished cure, and split it into several different fragments. She loaded each piece of her research onto a different data sphere, and ejected all of them into warp away from the planet's surface. When Venom reached her lab and the data was nowhere to be found, Doctor Aurelia and her team all paid the ultimate price. Soon afterwards, Andross decided to scorch the planet's surface." A soft red X appeared over her picture, greying the image out. Fox gulped when he saw it. "If we can get all of the spheres back, we can make a cure. We can end this war, here and now, Fox." Cas powered down his table, turning and looking at Fox with deathly seriousness like a stone monolith behind his eyes. "We can end this forever."

The tod had to look away from Cas' blistering stare, his insides still in turmoil. No matter where he looked, Fox could feel the deceased researcher's vivid eyes burrowing into his skull, burning a hole through his skin. Try as he might, the vulpine couldn't shake the creeping dread that had sunk its cold, serrated hooks into his heart. He felt a broken ache for the fate of a planet that didn't deserve incineration, a people that didn't deserve extermination, a scientist that had only wanted to save lives. The one true image he couldn't get out of his mind though was of the vixen he'd spent the last month next to. He knew where this conversation was heading. He also knew he would accept the subsequent mission without hesitation.

There was still one loose thread in his chain of logic, however, and that was the blue vixen. A fresh horror snaked through his synapses when he involuntarily pictured the same scene that had played out with the soldiers, only this time it was him standing over the blue fox, a wild look in his own eyes, a gun held to the only person who he felt complete with. Fox bit his tongue, doing his best to clear his mind of that visceral line of thinking. He couldn't bring himself to imagine a life without Krystal anymore, without her quick humor or devious grin or flaming intellect. Simply trying made a frenzied panic pool in his chest. How could he bring somebody so important in the line of fire? But then, how could he leave her behind?

 _What's worse, Fox... A world where Krystal's warmth is lightyears away, or snuffed out entirely? Are you selfish enough to keep somebody close by for your own pleasure? Even if it means you might lose another person you lo-_

Fox blinked. The vulpine has caught himself quickly, but he was still shocked that he'd been so close to subconsciously using... that word. Was it true?

His introspection was cut short however, interrupted by the lupine unfolding from over the table and turning to face his visitor. Fox blinked a few times to clear his thoughts before looking him in the eye.

"You need my team to find the other spheres," Fox said flatly, with a newfound mettle in his voice that surprised even himself. He was still scared, hell, terrified after what he had seen. This would be the most dangerous mission his team had ever taken on. Something else was layered behind the fear rattling his bones however, barely visible through his murky alarm. His blood boiled with a growing frustration, soon spilling over into seething anger at the universe that seemed bent on continuing to harm the people he cared about. Oddly enough, the source of his rage was the same as the wellspring of his worry and his joy - Krystal. Just picturing the beautiful vixen was enough to stir his heart to battle. He'd wipe that vile simian off the face of this plane of existence for himself, for Lylat.

 _For her._

He could do anything with the blue fox standing next to him, that much he was sure of. If only he could convince her to come along, he knew nothing would be too difficult for them to weather together. Fox looked back up at Cas after concluding his thoughts, surprising even the wolf with the dead set look in his eye.

"We'll take the job."

Cas blinked once at the sudden reversal he'd just witnessed in the vulpine. He wasn't one to take a good answer for granted though, and his lips eventually broke out into his trademark wide smile, the weariness evaporating from his posture and leaving behind his typical boisterousness. His eyes lit up in sparkling yellow, fire burning in his irises that was fanned by the rhythmic wagging of his tail in the background.

"That's the best news I've heard all day, Foxy," he said, standing up straight and folding his arms in satisfaction. He struck a pose somewhere between valiance and heroism, which combined with his full grin, made Fox chuckle despite himself. Cas' ability to be grim as death one second and cheerful as a pup the next was still a marvel to him. "If we can pull this off... well, I think our parents would've been proud."

The vulpine pressed his lips into a thin line before nodding once.

Fox opened his lips to respond with more than just a gesture, but found the words on his tongue interrupted by a short buzz from his wristcom. He glanced down at the now bright screen and the short message it held from Slippy.

 _Hurry back, we need to talk.  
-S_

Fox frowned back at the curt letter. Slippy wasn't one for brevity in his communications, so seeing a six word message from the frog was more unnerving than any novel he would've normally written. When Fox glanced back up from his screen, Cas was busy typing on his own, taking a few extra seconds to finish his message before hitting send.

"There," Cas said, obviously pleased with himself, "I've sent the preliminary briefing to the Great Fox. We can discuss payment there, and then I'll transmit the details of your next mission." The lupine stuck one graceful hand out, his back going militarily rigid. "As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you, Star Fox."

Fox rolled his eyes at the nickname that now both Lily and he had used, but ultimately he returned the handshake. "Always happy to help. I'll see you later, General," he finished, finally turning for the door and stepping back out into the hall. The wolf saluted as he walked out, his lopsided grin still spread across his face.

He held the gesture until he heard the large wooden doors click shut. When the metal clasp eventually snapped closed, sealing him off from the rest of the world, it was as if somebody had cut the strings holding the lupine up. Knowing he was finally alone again, Cas sank against his table, leaning on it for support he desperately needed. The wolf sat there for a long minute with grave thoughts trudging through his mind, his eyes scan haltingly back and forth against the tile underfoot.

 _Bzzzz. Bzzzz._

His wristcom's hollow vibrations made his ears twitch anxiously. Cas glanced down at it, staring at the screen without actually reading it. Moments before the call would have disconnected, he tapped the accept button, waiting in cold silence for the person on the other end to address him. After a minute, that voice finally came.

"...Did you meet with him?" a female prompted from the other end.

"Yeah," Cas breathed, a hand running down his exhausted face. "There's a problem. He's traveling with a Cerinian."

Silence. Only the sound of his own shallow breath met his ears until the voice came again.

"Does he know?"

Cas paused, thinking intently. "No. No, he doesn't know."

"Then I believe nothing has changed," she responded instantly. "I advise you stay course, General."

"Right..." Cas mumbled absently. "Just jarring," he continued, rising to his feet and shaking off the cold film that had coated his mind and body since that blue vixen first admitted to being a Cerinian. "That's all."

/

A/N: Heh… Hey guys, it's been a while. I have a few updates here for y'all. First, I'd like to apologize for how long it's been since I've updated. I got hit with a whole string of hard things I had to work through, and writing has always been hard when I can't devote a lot of brain space to it over the course of the day. But I recently came into some time and a newfound love for this story, so… Here's the next chap. :) It's definitely less fluffy than usual, but don't worry, this is still primarily a Fox/Krystal story, don't doubt that. It's just about time to start revealing a little more of the plot behind everything.

Also, I'll be moving to trying to publish shorter chapters more frequently, I think. Every chap has been a series of scenes more or less, but I think I want every scene to be it's own chapter now. It'll make it easier for me to write, and it'll mean I can get content out more often. If it doesn't work out I'll switch back, but it seemed to work for this chapter, so we'll see how it goes!

Thanks for reading as always guys, and I'll catch you in the next chapter, hopefully coming soon! :D


	8. Act I: Chapter 8 Home

Chapter 8 | Home

When Krystal closed her eyes, she could almost fool herself into believing that she was back on Cerinia. Her village had been full of people, friends, family, but no strangers. No matter how large their community grew, everybody celebrated each birth as if it had been their own child, and mourned each death just as personally. They were a tight knit clan. They all would have laid their lives down to protect one another. She had so many memories of her home, each one burning bright and strong. Memories of her parents, of her friends, of her elders, but above all, Krystal could remember meditating in her house, kneeling on the rough-hewn wooden floor, and simply letting her mind expand to encompass the entire town.

The vixen did the same thing now as she sat in the lobby of the Cornerian Heart, focusing inward and tuning out the hectic noise surrounding her. Back then, she had taken long, deep breaths and lost all sense of self, letting her telepathic range extend a few feet farther with each exhalation. In, out. In, out. Each respiration pushed her along a few more steps, walking past every living blade of grass, each giggling child and pensive adult. Each person's mind she encountered welcomed her, giving her a friendly greeting as if she were strolling past their porch in real life. Now, as the vixen meditated in her seat, her pulse slow and regular, she let her mind flow outwards until it encompassed the entire facility. She could feel every life force surrounding her, hundreds, thousands of souls all radiating their own particular blend of mental energy for her to sample.

In a way, it wasn't too different from meditating back on her homeworld. In fact, if Krystal fell deep enough into her trance, blurring the edges of her perception, she found she could trick herself into believing she was back in her house, kneeling on the wooden floor, letting her telepathy expand over the whole village. The longer Krystal sat there, the more she believed that somehow, she actually had been transported back to her homeworld. Suddenly, the vixen wasn't surrounded by alien strangers, but by a loving community of her fellow Cerinians. Their minds connected with hers and understood her. She was home.

 _Home._

But of course... the vixen wasn't home. The minute she even thought of that word, her illusion shattered into a million glass shards. The knife of loss twisted between her ribs, and her eyes flew open, a pained grimace clear on her face. Krystal's telepathy snapped back into place as her concentration broke. The blue fox's hands raced up instinctually to cover the gash that had been ripped in her side, but of course, her wound wasn't physical. A tear squeezed out of her eye as she pulled her knees upwards, hugging them into her chest. The muscles in the vixen's back went stiff, trying to protect her from the waves of pain that wracked her mind. So much had happened lately, but she'd still only lost her home a month ago. And no matter what happened, Krystal knew this wasn't going to be a wound that would heal quickly. It might not ever heal, not entirely. And it certainly wouldn't recover in a few weeks. Her home was gone. The pain assaulting her body only doubled when she fought back, making her breath come in shorter, irregular pants. Her whole body shivered and her blood ran like ice, even though the Heart was well heated. She didn't belong anywhere. She didn't have a home.

 _Home_.

But then, when the vixen thought that toxic word one more time, something peculiar happened. Instead of shoving her even further into her forlorn spiral, her mind did something she never expected it to do. In a moment of dire need, desperate to be somewhere she belonged, her telepathy leapt outwards, frantically hunting for her home. And then, when she least expected it, Krystal latched onto something. Warmth seeped back into her bones, loosening the death grip terror had on her mind. She'd found her home.

It was Fox's mind.

In her anguish, her telepathy had cried out to everyone around her, begging for someone, anyone to respond to her, to take her in, to comfort her. She might have pretended she was back in her village, but none of these people cared about her, none of them even knew who she was. No one except Fox, that is. Krystal gradually relaxed back into her chair, letting her eyes close as she let the feeling of Fox's familiar, comforting mind massage away her fears. She basked in the glow of his incandescent psyche, letting its rays of sunshine strip away her fears one by one, until finally she was tranquil. Her heart rate stabilized, and her breathing slowed to its regular pace. She was home. Fox was her home.

Krystal could still remember feeling so lost when she'd first escaped Cerinia. There had been nothing but cold and dark in her mind. Everything had felt fuzzy and numb. Every time she'd tried to focus her eyes on something, it had slipped from her vision. Every time she had tried to hold onto a thought, it had drifted away into oblivion. She'd been sure that she had lost everything. Well… that wasn't exactly right. She had thought she had lost everything, except her own life. Krystal had been convinced that she would be spend the rest of her days alone. And worst of all, it would have been all her fault.

Krystal shook her head, already feeling the darkness lurking in the corners of her mind, looking for another chance to strike. She couldn't think about Cerinia right now. She would have to deal with those memories another day, when she was ready. The vixen already knew that when the time came, Fox would need to be there for her. He would have to keep her supported when she finally faced down those demons. But that day wasn't today. Instead, she chose to focus on the positive, on the person who had granted her asylum. Her shy, brave vulpine.

 _Fox..._

He was her miracle. Even now, she was still linked to his mind across all the distance separating them. It was astounding how much her powers had grown and heightened since she first encountered the tod. Before, she had only been able to sense the vague dispositions of people who were physically close to her, unless she was meditating. She hadn't even been able to discern specific emotions, only a general warmth if they were happy, or a coldness if they were upset. But not with Fox. When she had first felt the vulpine's consciousness on the edges of her mind while she was trapped in her crystal, it had felt distinct from every other mind she'd ever felt. His thoughts were new and strange and excitingly unpredictable, but somehow, so familiar, even though she had never seen him before in her life. She never would have been able to reach out to somebody so far away, certainly not in such a distressed state. And yet, when she'd called out for Fox's help, he heard her with perfect clarity.

Krystal smiled, sinking deeper into her memories and the cradling tendrils of Fox's mind, caressing and calming her nerves. The tod didn't even realize they were connected right now, but even subconsciously, the doors of his mind were thrown wide open for her. He was inviting her in, his mind wanted to be close to hers as badly as she wanted to be close to his. If the vixen had needed any further proof that there was something special about Fox, their interaction at the fountain had silenced any doubts that this all might have just been a fluke.

What she had experienced at the fountain had been profound. A Cerinian's telepathy was a part of themselves, it was more than just a sense, it was a reflection of themselves as a person. Her telepathy was steadfast and solid, and it didn't fluctuate unless something extraordinary was happening. Which is exactly what had occurred standing under the water, with her and Fox's bodies close and their consciousnesses closer.

Her telepathy had undergone a transformation, what her mother had called "restructuring". It only happened when something important was transpiring, like seeing how Fox had truly felt about her. In those few, pivotal moments, her telepathy would warp and change based on every minute action the two undertook, every subconscious emotion, every microscopic physical cue. If Fox had rejected her, kept her at arm's length, her telepathy might have grown colder, more defensive, more reserved.

But he hadn't.

Krystal couldn't help but blush and wag her tail at the joyous memory of Fox admitting how much he liked having her nearby. And now, she could feel a link between her and Fox's mind that hadn't been there before. It was weak, probably too weak for Fox to even feel it yet. But it was there, she could sense it. The vixen could feel Fox's mind alongside hers inside her own head, however faint it was. Its mere existence there was nothing short of a miracle. It made her giddy, made her want to dance and sing and giggle in girlish glee. Her mind could only expand when she was with people who were important to her. She'd known that she had something special with Fox, of course, but this only confirmed her suspicions. The two of them now shared a fundamental, unbreakable psionic bond.

Unfortunately, none of it would mean anything if she couldn't earn her way onto Star Fox. Krystal felt the familiar pang of ice in her stomach when she thought about how this day was going to end. Today was her last day with Fox. Today, she would leave him, and assume her refugee status here on Corneria until she could become a full Lylatian citizen in a few weeks. None of that mattered though. What mattered was that she would be stuck here, and Fox would leave. He would leave her behind.

 _No… Fox wouldn't do that. He would never let me go_.

The voice was just a whisper in the back of her mind, but it still somehow managed to calm her nerves. Fox would never leave her behind. The tod had to know how important he was to her now. That he was her only home. And Fox also had to know that she couldn't lose her home for a second time in only one month. The first time had nearly killed her. If it happened again… she wasn't sure that she'd be able to bear it.

Krystal pressed her lips into a thin line, shaking her head to free it from the chains that were settling over her thoughts. That was why she knew that he would invite her to Star Fox. There was no doubt in her mind. He was going to ask her to stay. Fox was going to give her a home. She could feel it when she reached out to him, amongst the fiery blaze of his mind. Picking through all the strands of his train of thought, through his colorful and vibrant and safe mind, she could feel him call out to her just as much as she called out to him. He would ask her to stay. He had to.

As the vixen was searching Fox's mind, however, she felt something peculiar shifting in the sands. A smile twitched on her lips as she sifted through his thoughts, eventually isolating the new emotion: mischief. He'd been feeling stressed and worried for the past few minutes, but now, all that had disappeared in favor of the bubbly Fox McCloud she'd come to love. Fox was experiencing that kind, sheepish nervousness that made her heart skip a beat, that much was evident, but there were also distinct traces of playfulness dotting it. It took her another moment to realize that Fox had left the main spiral of the Cornerian Heart, and was now in the same lobby that she was. That's when she pieced it all together. Krystal giggled to herself when she realized that Foxy had a sly little plan forming in his mind. Part of her wanted to parse through his head and see if she could figure out what he had in store, and another part of her had already begun trying to plan some sneaky little way she could turn things back around on the vulpine, maybe get another stammering sentence out of him that would make her day.

In the end though, she decided to stay still in her seat, and let whatever Fox had planned unfold like he wanted. If Foxy had a coy little idea for her, then she was sure she'd love it. Plus, she could always one-up him later, when he was least expecting it. She was clever, and if everything went the way it should, she'd have plenty of time to cook up her next prank. Of course, for now, she was about to see what Fox's surprise was. The vixen sat still for a few more moments as she felt him approaching from behind, his mind drawing closer step by step until he came to a stop directly behind her. The vixen tried to act nonchalant and unaware, restraining the mutinous attempts of her head to turn around, of her legs to spring upwards, of her arms to tackle him into a hug. Instead, Krystal somehow managed to sit still until she felt a few light taps on her shoulder. She spun around at his touch, with a grin already twitching at her lips before she could even see what her friend had for her.

Krystal hummed a fulfilled, relaxed sigh as his bright orange fur filled her view. A knot of subconscious anxiety unwound itself once she could see him again. Fox's gaze was soft as it brushed across her face. He looked tired, with his eyelids and ears dropping at the corners, but still undeniably content. As if, after a long day at work, he'd finally come home. Krystal's twitching lips blossomed into a full smile. Maybe she was his home, as much as he was hers. Eventually, her eyesight managed to wander its way out of his, and down to the small bundle he held in one hand behind his back. Her eyebrows knit together, curious, and she looked back up at him expectantly, wondering exactly what the vulpine had planned. He gave her one of his trademark goofy smiles, bringing his hands out in front of him. Fox held a folded swath of fabric that he let unfurl towards the ground, cascading downwards until it took shape as a thick, army green jacket. And it was about her size.

"I know you're tough as nails, Krys," he started, bringing her gaze back up to his face, "but you felt like you'd been trapped in a freezer when we walked in here." The vixen laughed as she stood up to face him, taking the jacket from his outstretched hands and looking it over for herself. It was rugged and sturdy canvas on the outside, with tight stitching to avoid letting any extra heat escape, but the inside was softer than a cloud, with plush padding that caressed her hand wherever she inspected it. The boreal green was gentle on her eyes, and as soon as she held it, Krystal knew that she had a new favorite color. It only took her brain a few more seconds to make the connection as to why she adored the color so much. It was the same shade of green as Fox's eyes.

The vixen's ears flushed red at that thought, so she stared furtively down at the jacket's back and sleeves. She'd missed the collection of patches that were sewn into the fabric before, and she took a few moments to scan over them all, admiring their simple geometric designs and blocky colors. There was a circular patch of a Cornerian warship rising above the surface of the blue and green planet, with the circular beams of a sunrise splashing upwards in the background. A simple black and white design of a fighter jet adorned the other sleeve, encircled by the simple words, "Cornerian Fleet Command - Katinan Division". However, neither of those resonated within the vixen as much as the third and final patch did. Krystal's mouth actually hung open a little in surprise when her finger trailed across the grey and red threads that organized themselves into the simple design of a running fox with wings sprouted from its back, poised to fly. It was a logo she'd come to hold close to her heart over the past few weeks. The Star Fox logo.

"I hope it's warm enough for you," Fox murmured, stepping behind her so he could help slide it over her arms and onto her torso. The vixen stepped into the jacket, still staring down at the Star Fox emblem once she was wearing it. "I hope you like it, too. It… it looks nice on you," he managed to say with only the smallest hitch in his voice. With the coat around her shoulders, she felt embraced not only by the physical warmth of his gift, but by the roaring mental conflagration their minds were sharing. Krystal stepped forwards out of sheer instinct, suddenly needing to close the space between herself and the tod, not be separated from him by any unnecessary distance. She pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around his chest and burying her head into his neck. Fox stiffened under her touch, but returned the gesture before long. He sidled his arms around her, doing his best to loosen up and hold her close.

"I love it, Fox," she breathed, still not letting him go, still pushing away the cold outside world and losing herself in Fox's glow. The heat of his body, the spice of his scent, the bonfire of his mind, all of it. Right here, right now, with her entire existence nothing but Fox McCloud, her Foxy, was perfect. Nothing but her and her vulpine, intimate and close, forever. For the first time in an eternity, Krystal felt totally, irrevocably happy. There was no darkness lurking in her mind, every corner illuminated by her love for this courageous vulpine. Nothing haunted her, and nothing was circling, waiting. For the first time since she'd lost everything, Krystal knew what it was like to have everything again. She let her muscles relax as she melted into her hero, her rescuer, her partner. In that moment, the vixen's universe was whole again.

Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't destined to last for more than a fleeting moment.

As quickly as her contentment had begun, it slipped away, replaced by a pang of doubt when she felt something wrong in Fox's mind. The cords in her neck and shoulders clenched reflexively when a single strand of Fox's thinking suddenly turned freezing cold. The ice seeped into her own thoughts, sending a chill down her spine, despite how hot her new winter jacket was. "And besides…" he mumbled, making Krystal recoil with the sudden traces of heartache woven into his words. She pulled back, trying to look into his eyes, but his gaze was fixed on his boots, his tail still and motionless. He gulped, eventually meeting her worried expression with a weak smile. "I… I wanted you to have something to, you know… remember me by."

Krystal's world shattered around her. The peace and joy intoxicating her thoughts drained out of her blood, leaving behind nothing but a frigid, metallic slush. Her perfect universe crumbled to the ground. Something to remember him by? Was this all she was going to get? A small souvenir, a trinket that he'd hand her before leaving for good? What about her home, what about how she belonged with this tod? Krystal's chest constricted, her heart hammering with panic. Was she wrong about everything before? Was Fox not her new home? Did she have a home still? Darkness emerged and pounced on her thoughts, sinking its claws back into its prey with newfound strength. The world around her went blurry, out of focus, and she felt a familiar numbness start to gnaw at her appendages, planting one last grave thought in the forefront of her mind.

 _Does Fox not want me around?_

Krystal was quiet as she looked back at the vulpine, the life leeching out of her, the color draining from her cheeks, the glint dulling from her pupils. The blue fox's hopeful future looked like little more than a naive child's dreams now. Why would he want her around? She'd just be an impediment to their team. She'd just get in the way. She didn't belong there, with him. She didn't belong anywhere.

Fox must have realized that he'd said something wrong, because his ears pinned backwards and his smile dissolved the moment he saw Krystal's disposition plummet. Vaguely, Krystal could feel that single cold thought in Fox's mind snatch up every thread surrounding it, infecting them with its pallor until his entire mind felt like a glacier. They separated away from each other, each looking towards the floor as they silently shuffled their feet, and eventually walked out the door and into the frozen night. The chill lapped at Krystal's bones, but she couldn't feel it through the vacuum that had already sucked the nerves from her body. The entire walk back to the _Great Fox_ , only one sentence cycled again and again through her head, each time leaving her a little weaker, a little closer to true emptiness.

 _Fox doesn't want me._

/

He couldn't do it. Fox had lost so many people, so many friends, all of his family. Everything and everyone that he loved always found a way of leaving him forever. Whenever he grew attached to somebody, they always crushed him. That was why even now, as he slunk through the Harbor with Krystal at his side, looking crippled and lost, he knew that he couldn't let her onto the team. Krystal was too important to lose. If he couldn't stop himself from caring about her, then he'd protect her to his very last breath. Even then, he'd find a way to keep her safe once he was gone. Fox looked over at her again, and felt a violent rush of emotion well in his chest, from contentment, to fear, to protectiveness, to… to love.

Something had happened at that fountain earlier, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Ever since he'd unwound himself from around her, he'd been more in sync with her, even closer to her than he'd felt before. Almost like he understood what was happening in her own mind, like a sixth sense that was always gazing at the most important person in his life. That was why when he looked over at the vixen, the feeling that raked over his heart more than any other was despair.

It clawed at his insides, seeing Krystal sinking back into the limbo she had worked so hard to break free from. He recognized all of the signs. Her movements were slow and purposeless, her eyes were absent, even her pelt and sapphire hair had lost some of their luster. Fox wanted to believe that it was just residual from Cas' unwitting comments earlier, but he knew better than that. The look of terror that had flashed across her eyes when he'd told her that the jacket was, "something to remember him by," was still branded vivid and clear behind his eyelids. It sent a sick feeling straight to his gut. She was forlorn because of him, not Cas.

The worst part was that he knew how to fix it. If he let her on the team, she'd be ecstatic, and he'd be the happiest man in the galaxy too. Every atom in his body screamed at him to fall to his knees on the tarmac and beg her to stay with him. But as soon as he was about to open his lips and blurt out his invitation, that image from Cas' office appeared in his head. He gritted his teeth in visceral horror as his subconscious played the disjoint pictures of him getting infected with Reclaim, of him standing over Krystal, of him pulling his gun and aiming it downwards, squeezing the trigger, until... Fox shook his head, clearing it of the awful vision that he knew he'd be plagued with again while he was sleeping tonight, if he could even bring himself to unconsciousness. That was why he couldn't let Krystal onto Star Fox. He couldn't let anything happen to Krystal. He'd do anything to keep her from getting hurt. And that included leaving her here on Corneria, out of harm's way.

And so the rest of their walk passed in destitute silence. They didn't speak, or joke, or walk close to one another. They both glued their eyes to the pavement, putting one foot in front of the other as the jubilant sounds of the city were lost to their deaf ears. Fox wasn't sure how long they walked in isolation, but eventually he found himself staring up at the _Great Fox_ , now fully repaired, cleaned, and outfitted with all the weaponry and provisions they'd need for their next mission. Normally he'd grin whenever he saw it, proud of the reputation he'd built for himself, with this mothership as the crown jewel of it all. Tonight though, it just reminded him that it was a cold hunk of metal that wouldn't be warmed by Krystal's light anymore.

Lily and her crew had packed up and gone home for the night, so the two foxes were able to walk up onto the rusty lift and enter the _Great Fox_ 's airlock without encountering another soul. All the nighttime sounds of Corneria City muffled once they walked through the first door, and by the time they shuffled into the interior, only the quiet thrum of the ship's revved down reactor filled the otherwise crushing silence. Fox risked a glance at the vixen, but her head was still bowed, her tail lifeless at her ankles. He struggled to find something to say to her, some way to explain himself, some way to make her understand, but his muzzle could only stay closed, wordless.

"Fox!" a voice said from the end of the hall, ruining his chance to speak to the vixen. He sought out the source of the call, and saw Slippy jogging towards them as fast as he could, huffing a little as he passed. "There you two are. Follow me," he said without taking a pause, already beckoning for them to follow him towards his machine shop. "Trust me, you want to see this."

And just like that, the frog ducked around another corner, disappearing from view. Fox turned around to face Krystal again once he was gone, but he found her just like he'd left her. His heart ached the longer he looked at her. Eventually, he couldn't help himself when he gently took her hand in his, stepping in just a fraction closer to Krystal, still leaving a compunctious gap between themselves. He tried to give her a small, timid smile, but she didn't react, if she even noticed.

"Let's… let's go see what he wants," he murmured quietly, squeezing her hand. It was limp in his, unresponsive. His hope plummeted even further. Misery pulsing through his mind, he turned around, and walked with the vixen towards their workshop.

Once they were inside, the relative silence of the _Great Fox_ 's hallways was replaced with the whirr of industrial tools and hum of computer terminals. This was Slippy's little corner of the ship, where he could fiddle with spare parts all he wanted, building their vehicles much needed upgrades from scratch. Sometimes his inventions were revolutionary, and gave them a significant edge on the battlefield. Other times though… Fox thought back to their run in with his war-bot a couple weeks ago. Other times, they were a bit of a nuisance. They'd have been stranded or killed on many occasions without Slippy's quick thinking and astounding skill with hardware, however, so he would go to bat for the toad as a pivotal member of the team.

His knowledge was especially useful in circumstances like these, Fox appreciated, as he walked up to his workbench and peered over Slippy's shoulder. He had dissected one of the strange screws that Lily had handed him earlier, its parts carefully organized and diagrammed. There was only one person Fox trusted to get to the bottom of mysterious technology, and that was the frog. And, thankfully, it appeared as though Slip had come to some important conclusions about this piece of rogue hardware.

Slippy picked one piece of the puzzle off the table, holding it carefully between his thumb and index finger for Fox to see. "This was a signal beacon. There were fourteen of them bolted to the outside of our hull, and all of them were transmitting." Fox was silent for a moment, processing. He shook his head, confused.

"So," he started, his eyebrows furrowed, "we were being tracked on our last mission?"

Slippy shook his head, turning back around pulling up one of his holoscreens in front of him. "Not quite. If it were a tracking beacon, it'd have had some sort of ansible transceiver, and the socket layout would have been structured more optimally for easy input and output signaling..." he started, but trailed off when he saw Fox giving him a look that clearly meant, 'get to the point'. Slippy cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Sorry. I just mean if it was a tracker, it'd have been more directed. This thing was putting all its energy into screaming into space at the top of its lungs. It wasn't tracking us, it was trying to get somebody's attention."

"Whose attention was it trying to get?" Fox asked, already starting to make connections in his head.

"I was wondering that too, which was why I recorded the signal it was sending out, and tried to decipher it. It looked like gibberish at first, which is why it acted so weirdly around our communicators," he said, demonstrating by bringing one of the intact screws next to his personal wristcom. The screen immediately began to go fuzzy, graying into static the closer he brought the two together. "To any civilian or Cornerian ship that happened to pick the signal up, it just looked like a burst of meaningless, random radiation, because it wasn't encrypted for their channels."

"That way, nobody would try to hail us and warn us," Fox mumbled to himself, seeing the big picture. "That must mean it was encrypted on criminal channels, wasn't it?"

Slippy nodded, confirming his captain's guess. "I think so. I don't have any underworld decryption keys, but if the pirate gang was able to understand it, that could be why they were able to dock with us and board the ship."

Fox nodded. "So, we're pretty sure it was trying to get the attention of a pirate ship. Do we know what exactly it was yelling?"

Slippy shrugged, turning back to his monitor. "Your guess is as good as mine. Without the decryption keys, I won't be able to decipher the signal. I'd try and rip it right out of the beacon itself, but… well, that's the part that worries me most, Fox," Slippy said, kneading his hands together anxiously. "I've never seen anything like this before. The circuitry, the design, the manufacturing, it's all totally new."

Fox crossed his arms, not understanding. "You can't tell who built it?"

Slippy shook his head. Fox could see a little frustration on his face, like he'd failed at solving a puzzle that should've been easy for him. "You know how many pieces of tech I've taken apart, Fox, and I can tell you that I've never run into this stuff before. It's not Venomian. It's not Cornerian. It doesn't match the samples I've seen from any criminal organizations or other mercenary groups or private corporations. I have no idea where these came from," he said finally, laying the screw carefully back in its container. Fox frowned, his hand under his chin, thinking as best he could, but he couldn't come up with any ideas either.

Eventually he gave up, sighing and dropping his hands back to his sides. His brain was shot right now anyway. All he could focus on was the vixen who was standing behind him, and how with every second that passed, she was sliding further and further back into her dark chasm. Fox felt lost, torn between rushing to her side to comfort her, and wondering if she even wanted him around anymore. He let out a long breath, but it didn't do anything to break up the dreadful rock he felt sitting in his stomach.

"Well… if we can't figure out what the beacon's saying, maybe somebody else knows." Fox was thoughtful for a moment before looking up to the ceiling, an idea occurring to him. "ROB, are you there?"

"Affirmative, Captain McCloud," his voice came from above. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Do we still have anybody in the brig from our last fight?" Fox asked.

"My records indicate we have a number of criminals currently in the brig due for transfer tomorrow," ROB responded quickly. "One female feline in particular is marked as having served on their bridge."

"Could you have Falco bring her into the interrogation room? I've got a few questions for her," Fox said, already tapping his communicator to life and jotting down a few notes on it.

"Affirmative, Captain. Pilot Lombardi has been notified and is en route, after using several words blocked by my prohibited explicit language subroutine."

"Boy, am I happy that I remembered to turn that on," Slippy remarked, hopping down from his stool and walking past the two of them. He stopped in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at the duo. A look of worry crossed his face when he saw the thunderclouds that hung over them, but he chose not to say anything about it. "I'll meet you guys on the bottom floor," he said quickly, excusing himself from the awkward situation.

Fox followed after him a few seconds later, once again trying and failing to come up with anything to say to the vixen. It felt like he was watching her waste away in bed all over again, his tongue nailed to the bottom of his mouth, despite the fact that he wanted nothing more than to alleviate her pain. After a few more wordless seconds, Fox began to slowly trudge out of the room, but something stopped him before he could leave. The vulpine felt Krystal's hand move into his, loosely wrapping her fingers around his palm. Fox glanced up at the vixen's face in shock when her light blue hand entwined with his, but she was still looking down and away, still mostly absent. The vulpine's heart only disintegrated into smaller shards, seeing her so abject, seeing a gesture that should've been full of brimming emotion for the both of them turned into a rote motion she needed to simply continue.

 _Maybe… maybe I'm making a mistake._

/

Fox was losing her. The initial traces of emotion Krystal's reaction had held were gone now, evaporated off and leaving behind little more than a fading husk of the vixen. He'd tried to make a few small conversations as they'd walked down stairs and passed through doorways, but no sounds left the blue fox's body. No words, no whispers, no noises of confirmation to suggest there was anybody even left in her mind. That feeling of connection he'd felt with the vixen wasn't gone, but it had radically shifted. His thoughts were no longer tinged by fire, but by ice.

By the time they walked into the interrogation room, tears began to collect at the corners of his eyes, but he wiped them away with the back of his sleeve quickly before he walked in. He couldn't appear compromised right now, not when he needed answers. He was the leader, so that meant he had to step up when things were difficult. And right now, things looked insurmountable. Fox took a deep breath. He didn't shove those emotions away to deal with them later; instead, he let them burn bright inside of him, determined to use them as fuel, to employ them in figuring this problem out, and then solving the much more important problem of this stunning, beautiful, tragic vixen at his side. Frigid embers lined his stomach, and soon, Fox senses sharpened, his thoughts focused. He let his breath back out, prepared. The tod reached one paw out, opening the door and stepping over the threshold, hearing the magnetic lock seal behind him.

Fox blinked at the scene laid out in front of him.

The first thing he saw was a fearful feline restrained in a simple metal chair which was, thankfully, bolted to the ground, or else it would've been rattling and bouncing all across the room with how hard she fought against her cuffs. She was muscular, with a large frame that would clearly loom well over his own if she stood up. Her muscles strained against the ripped sleeves of her shirt, and the cords in her neck were stretched tight as she ripped each of her shoulders forward again and again, trying to free herself to no avail. Her ears were pinned back in alarm as she kept all her attention focused on Falco, the only other person in the room.

His eyes shifted to take in the avian's current situation, but it didn't seem like he was faring much better. He was busy hopping in place on one leg, both hands clutching his ankle. Falco's eyes were squeezed shut, his face contorted in pain as he shouted a river of creative curses. The bird looked up when he saw Fox walk in. Murder was in his eyes the entire time he bounced up and down.

"She kicked my damn shin!" Falco blurted out, glaring back at the lynx, appearing ready to descend on her with talons drawn for round two. Fox glanced back at the feline once Falco had explained, with an eyebrow arched. The pirate was silent now, but he could tell she was still vibrating with distress. He glanced back towards the avian, motioning for a chair in the back corner of the room with his head.

"Take a seat, Falco. I've got it from here. What's her name?" he asked, pulling up his own spot at the table while the bird stomped off to the back of the room.

"Cleo Malone," he grumbled, plopping down and beginning to massage his bruised body and ego.

The minute the tod pulled up a chair, however, the feline's frightened disposition vanished. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open slightly in shock. Fox could almost see a brief flare of disbelief behind her eyes as she ceased rattling against her restraints.

"You're…. you're Fox McCloud," she mumbled, awestruck. After a long moment, the feline seemed to realize that she was staring, so she looked away, trying to hide the amazed smile that was forming on her lips. " _The_ Fox McCloud. S-sorry," she stuttered, working up the courage to peer back up into his eyes. She looked sheepish, with an embarrassed grin and her beaming eyes lighting up the whole room. "I'm just… a big fan," she managed, saying the last few words with a long breath, trying to collect herself. Fox arched one eyebrow at the sudden change in the feline's mood, but still couldn't help but chuckle a little himself.

"Big fan, huh?" Fox asked, folding his hands together in front of himself. "Is that why you were shooting at us earlier?"

In an instant, the color drained from Cleo's face, a panicked look gripping her expression. "No, no, you don't understand!" she said worriedly, her desperate irises pleading for sympathy. "I wasn't there voluntarily! Those pirates took me hostage a few months ago, and forced me to work for them! Oh g-god, you're here to kill me, aren't you?" she asked, terror flooding her face. Despite being larger than any of them, the feline somehow managed to look small and petrified as she shuffled back in her chair, curling into a defensive ball.

A dagger of guilt stabbed through Fox's gut upon witnessing the poor cat trembling in her chair. He instinctively rushed a comforting hand out, trying to assuage Cleo's fears as his own eyes went wide with worry. "What? No, no of course not!" Fox blurted out. His heart slowed just a bit when he saw the cat open one tentative eye, slowly eyeing him from inside her shell.

"Y-you're not?" Cleo asked, apprehension still layered under her words. Fox shook his head, giving her a reassuring smile that earned a sigh of relief from the cat. The vulpine couldn't help but grin, watching her sink back down from her escalated stress. He felt bad for the poor feline. She'd probably been terrified for the past two weeks, sitting down in the brig, wondering where he was taking her.

"You've got nothing to worry about," he said with all the warmth he could muster, "do you think you can help us out?" She nodded vigorously in response, leaning forward a few degrees. Fox motioned to Slippy, who quickly produced one of the transmitter screws from his pocket. He set it down on the table, earning a puzzled look from Cleo.

"We found out a couple hours ago that our ship had a few of these bolted to the hull. They're signal transmitters, and apparently they were shouting something out into space. Problem is, we don't know what it was saying. But we think you might." Fox could see Cleo visibly combing through her brain. "R.O.B. told us that you worked on the bridge of the other ship, and I know someone there must have decoded it… Do you think you can remember what it said? Did you happen to overhear anything?"

Cleo nodded, but she was still lost in thought. "I can do better than that," she mused with a sideways grin. "I was the ship's communications expert. I remember the message you're talking about."

Fox's tail beat quickly behind him a few times, and his heart leapt in his chest. Finally, he was going to catch a break. "You do?" he asked, excitement in his voice. "Do you remember what it said?"

"Well… sort of," she admitted, biting her lip. "I was the only comms person on the bridge, so I handled a lot of messages, and this was almost months ago at this point." The feline looked like she was counting thing off a mental checklist. "There were galactic coordinates, a safe docking speed, and your warp frequency attached, I remember that much. It's how they managed to catch you while you were in warp." she said, trailing off. Fox was hanging on her words, leaning forward in his chair to see what else she would say.

"Yeah?" Fox said, nudging her to continue.

"There were other instructions with it, some redundancy information, profiles of the people onboard, and… they included a bounty too," she started, grabbing Fox's already rapt attention by the shoulders. He immediately opened his mouth to interject and ask what she knew, but she shook her head anticipating his next question, an apologetic frown on her lips. "See, that's where I'm getting hung up. I only remember one thing about the bounties off the top of my head, because they nearly made me spit my drink on my keyboard when I saw them."

The vulpine held his breath, trying to clean every last piece of information he could. "How much did we have on our heads?" he asked, concerned.

"Millions. Tens and hundreds of millions of credits were on your heads, dead or alive," she responded instantly, her short sentence catching Fox wildly off guard, like a sucker punch thrown to the back of his skull. Instantly, a flood of questions roared in his head. Who wanted him dead that badly? What could he have done without even realizing it to attract so much attention? Who could even pull this off from the shadows? All of those questions and more swirled in Fox's head, demanding answers. He could feel his heart pumping faster, adrenaline catalyzing the firing neurons in his mind.

"Damn it, do you really not remember anything else about what it said?" Fox asked hurriedly, impatiently. He bit his lip when he saw the feline shrink back in her chair again, afraid. The vulpine scolded himself for getting ahead of himself, for intimidating Cleo. Even if every nerve in his body was ringing with tension, and he could taste how close he was to finally dredging up some answers, he needed to take this slowly and carefully. If he scared his one link to the truth, he might never get another opportunity like this. Fox looked back up at the feline who still appeared to be caught in the headlights. It was amazing, seeing how small someone as physically formidable as her could make herself.

"I-I'm sorry," Fox said gently, lowering himself back down in his chair and clasping his balled fists in his lap. "This is just really important to us. Are you sure you don't remember anything else?"

Fox's backing off seemed to put Cleo more at ease, but he could tell she was still on edge. "I don't…. I'm sorry, I've handled thousands of messages since then, and I was just a radio tech, so I only got to look at the message once when it first came in. W-why is it so important?" she asked timidly.

Fox sat back in his chair slightly, feeling his big break slipping between his fingers. "We have no clue who's after us, and I was hoping you would remember a name, or even a place, anything that might help us pin down what we're up against. But if you don't remember, then we're back to square one."

"Well… why don't you just scan the message yourself?" she asked, nodding her head towards the screw on the table.

"Because, we don't have the right codes to decrypt the signal," Fox sighed. "It was published on a criminal channel, and we don't have access to that kind of stuff without heading to a black market."

That was when a realization hit him like a ton of steel.

Fox's head jerked up suddenly, locking onto the feline in front of him. What he saw on her face made his spirits soar straight through the atmosphere, because it meant he and Cleo were thinking the same thing. Her face lit up in joy, her tail flicking behind herself in jubilance. "I can get the signal open!" she nearly shouted in glee, her voice high and thrilled. Fox wanted to jump for joy, whooping and hollering at his turn towards good fortune. "I still remember all the codes," Cleo said rapidly, nearly stumbling over her words, "just give me a few minutes with it and I can get you anything you want off that transmitter!"

Fox let out a long, ecstatic laugh at that, feeling himself melt back into his chair. Finally, after everything, they had a lead. "You have no clue how relieved I am to hear you say that, Cleo. We really owe you one." Fox rose to his feet, turning his head over his shoulder to talk to Falco, who actually looked impressed, despite their earlier run in.

"Get her restraints off, Falco, and let's head up to your lab, Slip," he said, watching the toad scoop up the transmitter carefully. "Then we can really start to figure out what's going on h-"

"She's lying."

The strong, clear voice that said those two words actually made him flinch slightly, forcing him to blink in disorientation. His head spun to follow the source, and unbelievably, his eyes settled on the person who everyone had overlooked in all the commotion. Still sitting in her chair was Krystal, a dangerous fire burning behind her eyes. It was enough to earn a small gasp from the tod, who had fully expected to see her still devoid of purpose. Krystal glared suspiciously across the table, not at himself, but at the feline who was moments away from coming to help them solve this mystery. Fox felt his mouth go dry, seeing the sudden change in the vixen's disposition. Before, where there had only been solemnity and blackness, suddenly, he could see life and fight. Krystal didn't move from her seat, but her posture was suddenly upright and authoritative. Fox's eyes went wide the longer he looked at the vixen. Something had set her off. Somehow, Krystal was back. And judging by the way she stared at their prisoner, he could only guess that Cleo was responsible.

"Why aren't you happy right now?" Krystal asked sharply. The entire room fell into silence at her piercing question, only the distant groan of the ship echoing in the otherwise deaf space. Krystal never broke eye contact with the feline as she awaited her answer. For just a split second, Fox could've sworn that he saw a flicker of suspicion pass over Cleo's face, but it vanished as soon as it had appeared, if it had been there at all.

"Of-of course I'm happy!" Cleo said, quickly, still stumbling from the vixen's interjection.

"No, you're not," Krystal asserted instantly, making the feline wince again. Fox was rooted to the floor, watching this sudden twist in the road unfold in front of him. "You don't feel happy, you feel accomplished. One means you take joy from helping somebody else, and the other means you're taking joy from forwarding your own agenda." Krystal stood up, gingerly pushing Falco away from undoing her handcuffs.

"I don't know what you m-" Cleo began, but was silenced again by Krystal's increasingly distrustful statements.

"It's not just accomplishment though. When Falco started undoing your restraints, I knew something was wrong. Despite your warm exterior, I felt a flash of darkness flit across your heart." Cleo was now looking at the vixen like she was crazy, but with every sentence Krystal spoke, he could see more and more of the vixen's reasoning laid plain in front of him. It was as if the blue fox was demolishing a stage built all around him in order to reveal the real world, yanking him out of an enchantment that had been cast over him. Fox could see Cleo struggling to try and rein the situation back in, but it was too late now. Krystal had saved him, yet again.

"I don't think you intended to kill any of us once your cuffs were off, but that only raises more questions. You wanted to knock us out, and then escape while we were out cold," Krystal accused, coming to stand next to Fox, finishing her small monologue. The tod turned to look at her for just a moment. All of the hurt was still there from before, all of the sadness and desperation that he had caused. It cut into him, slicing at his already faltering willpower. At least now, however, he could see the lapping flames of Krystal's spirit in the background, rejuvenated by this confrontation. Fox felt the cold and hot fires of horror and contentment pulsing in his veins simultaneously as he took her expression in. He couldn't help but quickly take her hand inside his own, giving it a reassuring, thankful squeeze. The vixen stood silent next to him, but returned the gesture after just a moment. Fox let out a relieved breath of air when he felt it.

"R.O.B., can you pull up government records for Cleo Malone?" he asked, with his arms crossed. The ship's AI thought for a second before responding in its cool, calm voice.

"Several records match the name Malone, Cleo. None, however, are reported as missing from their families, as this prisoner claims to be." All eyes shifted back onto their mystery prisoner after hearing R.O.B.'s conclusive evidence.

This time, however, when their eyes landed on the feline, they no longer saw a bubbly, easily cowed radio tech that had landed here simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, the lynx sitting in the chair had a sharp look in her eye. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line, and it felt like she was staring each of them right down into the minutiae of their souls. Their prisoner was sharp, watchful, and observant. No longer trying to make herself small and unassuming, the lynx's back was straight and she sat at her full height, her muscular frame larger than anybody else's in the room. In an instant, she morphed from a submissive prisoner into somebody who looked very professional, and very, very dangerous.

Fox pulled up his chair again, wary. The lynx's eyes tracked him the whole way, remaining silent, seeming to glean every piece of information she could from every small action he took. "How about we try this again," Fox asked, pulling his chair forward so he could look her in the eyes. "You want to escape, and we need your help. If this is going to happen, you need to tell us the truth," he leaned forward, dubious, but not hostile. Krystal sat down next to him a moment later, closely monitoring the lynx's mind. "What's your _real_ name?"

The feline sat still for a long, contemplative moment, never dropping Fox's gaze. She didn't look hostile either, but her intense concentration could easily be misinterpreted as anger. Fox didn't see any rage in her eyes though. No, their prisoner was simply thinking with extreme caution. After a long moment of waiting, her lips opened back up to speak. It was the same voice as before, but suddenly, it projected authority and strength that hadn't been in Cleo's.

"My name is Miyu. Miyu Lynx."

Fox's eyes shifted towards Krystal, trying to confirm whether their passenger's statement was truthful. Krystal's gaze was still locked forward with blistering intensity, but after a few beats, Krystal nodded imperceptibly. Miyu was telling the truth. Fox would have to rely on the vixen during this interrogation. This lynx had a silver tongue.

"Well then, Miyu… why were you on that ship in the first place?" Fox asked.

Miyu didn't visibly react, keeping her expression as neutral as the mirror surface of an undisturbed lake. "I needed to get to Corneria, and this was the only way I could make it here." Again, Krystal confirmed her statement.

"And what did you need here on Corneria?" Fox pushed further, leaning back in his chair with arms crossed.

"I… don't know," Miyu admitted, faltering in her statement slightly. "But whatever it is, it's important. I think I can keep it from falling into the wrong hands."

"And?" Krystal riposted immediately, earning a bitter glare from the lynx.

"...And I could net some good credits while I'm at it," the lynx finished, realizing she wasn't going to be able to hide anything from Krystal.

Fox raised an eyebrow at the feline's vague statement. "You have no idea what you're searching for?" he challenged, sighing when the lynx shook her head in response. Krystal seemed to think she was telling the truth, at least.

"Hey, I've got a question for ya," Falco balked from the back of the room, "if you're so clean and friendly, what was your job on that ship anyway, huh? Why were you trying to take over our little space boat?"

Miyu didn't turn to face the bird, instead keeping her eyes front and center. "I really was the communications expert on the ship," she began, earning a dismissive sound from Falco. "I was also their heavy weapons expert," she shot back quickly, her intense assertion draining a little of the bravado from the avian's posture. "As for why I was attacking your ship… I'm sorry. I really didn't have any other choice."

Krystal shook her head, immediately setting off the red alerts in Fox's head. "You're not telling us something," Krystal asserted, but her voice was… softer. Almost as if the truth Miyu was concealing wasn't nefarious this time.

Miyu shifted uncomfortably in her chair, sidling from side to side just a hair. "I… I did my best to hide the communication that was giving you guys away, but the captain saw it before I could get rid of it," Miyu admitted, still clinging to her desperate attempts not to reveal the whole truth. Fox rested his elbows on the table, bringing his face closer to hers.

"Why did you try to hide us?" Fox asked, quietly. Unfortunately, his tender words did nothing but anger the lynx. For the first time he saw genuine emotion on her face, even if it was only for a fleeting moment.

"Because I did!" she growled, her lips pulled back in agitation. "You could just say thanks and be done with it."

Fox eased off, realizing pushing the conversation in this direction was going to be fruitless. Instead, he routed back around to the reason they were here in the first place, the unknown message.

"Alright, I understand," he conceded. "And… thank you. Even if it didn't work out, anybody who tries to protect my family is okay in my book." The lynx didn't adjust her expression, keeping her careful veil of impassivity up. "So you said you were the comms expert, right? I get the feeling you know more about this message than you let on."

Miyu just grunted in response, throwing her composure back together in a flash. "Don't expect much," she said, one of her ears flicking as the air conditioning kicked on in the room. "I meant what I said about the bounty, but there wasn't much information attached to it. They were paying out the nose for your heads, but it only said one thing about where to turn the bounties in. I can remember clearly," she said, gesturing for Fox to pull up a notepad on his communicator, "it said to turn in the bounties to _LJK_."

Fox jotted down the three initials, then glanced around the room to see if anybody recognized the letters. He was met with shrugs all around, even from the lynx herself.

"Don't ask me, I'm from Titania, not Corneria," Miyu volleyed. "I don't know what goes on out here."

Fox nodded, understanding. He couldn't help but feel a little satisfaction about finally having _something_ to go on, even if the clue was only three short letters. He let himself slump against the backrest of his chair, looking up towards the ceiling as his brain churned the initials over and over again. Still, no matter how many time he reviewed them in his head, they never seemed to coalesce into anything useful. He let out a long breath, ultimately sliding himself back up to face their captive. "So is that everything you remember? Nothing else?" Fox asked, already knowing the answer.

Miyu shook her head precisely once. "That's all. I promise."

Fox sat silent for a long minute, his eyes tracking from side to side as thoughts came and went through his mind, his chin rested softly on one hand. A million different plans flitted through his the pathways of his brain, but none seemed likely to end with him scrounging up any new information. With all eyes on him, Fox let out an affirmative hum, placing both hands flat on the table in front of him and pushing himself to his feet.

"Well, I suppose that wraps this up then. Thanks for your help, Miyu." The tod nodded at Falco again, earning a puzzled look from the avian. "You can let her go now."

Falco squawked in shock at him, and Slippy started to protest, rising from his seat. Even Miyu was stunned, staring at him with knitted eyebrows and a look that expressed exactly how nuts she thought he was in that moment. Fox stopped as he was walking through the door, turning to face towards Falco instead.

"What? She helped us out, now we should help her out. Let her go," he said, shrugging. Falco stepped right up in front of the vulpine, still only able to make vaguely incredulous sounds and hand motions.

"Wha- Foxy," the avian finally managed, "I don't think I have to remind ya that just a few minutes ago, bobcat here was planning to kick our asses and bolt out the door. And you just want to _let her go_?"

Fox shrugged again. "Pretty much."

Falco settled his face in the palm of his hand, letting out a truly incredible groan of annoyance. "Do they feed you something out on Papetoon to turn you into idiots, or does all the sand you breathe into your skulls just make you that way?" he asked sarcastically, not budging from his place.

Fox rolled his eyes, but before he could speak, a few words came from the center of the room. They were in Krystal's sweetly accented voice, deliberate and quiet.

"I think… Fox is right," she stated slowly, keeping her eyes fixed downwards. "I don't sense any hostility from her. Even if she did deceive us, I can tell she… she regrets it, now. We should let her go."

Falco threw up his hands now that he was outnumbered. He stormed past the vulpine, stomping out the door. "Fine, whatever, it's your ship. Just don't expect me to be the first one to take a punch to the beak when you unlock those cuffs."

A series of clattering stomps and one slammed door later, the bird was gone, leaving the rest of them alone with the lynx. Fox chuckled a little to himself as he stepped up behind the feline personally, pulling his communicator out and digging through its files for the access code to disengage the electronic lock holding her in place.

"You're actually letting me go?" Miyu asked, retaining that same passiveness she had before.

Fox let out a brief noise, beginning to enter in the code. "The reason I became a mercenary in the first place was so I could do what I thought was right, even if it didn't line up with the letter of Cornerian law. If you did your best to save us, and you're here for a good reason, I'm not going to stand in your way. Especially not after you just gave me my only lead." With a soft chirp and a metallic _click_ , the metal bands restraining the lynx slid open, freeing her. The lynx didn't get up at first, incredulously rubbing her wrists where the cold metal had chafed against her skin and fur. As he'd hoped, when the lynx finally did get to her feet, she didn't pull her nails out and make a break for the door. Instead, she turned to face him while he stood back up on his feet.

"Just do me a favor," he said, giving her a sideways smile. "Be careful who you use that sneaky tongue on. Not all of us are as bad as you think." Fox extended his hand out for a handshake, waiting patiently for the lynx to process everything that had just happened.

After a moment though, the lynx tentatively raised her own hand up, hesitating for a split second before taking his hand in her strong grip. She didn't smile, but he could see a certain warmth behind her features that hadn't been there before.

"I will. Thank you, Fox," she said, with earnesty laced into her few words. She turned after that, walking towards the door, where Slippy hopped up to show her the way out.

Their combined footsteps died down once they'd turned the corner of the next hallway, Miyu's heavy footfalls and the rapid taps of Slippy's waddling. Now it was just him, and the vixen who was still seated at the table, looking off into the distance. Even just moments after the commotion had ended, he could already tell where her mind was right now. He knew, because it's exactly where his own thoughts had automatically returned to as well.

Fox took a deep breath, steeling his courage and pulling up a seat next to the blue fox. She didn't react when he sat down, but thankfully, he could tell it was because she was lost in thought, not because she was slipping back into the darkness of her mental abyss. The two sat in silence together for a minute, two minutes, maybe longer. They didn't make eye contact, instead just coexisting as a pair, searching for a meaning in the cold wall panels that they both knew wasn't there. The answers they wanted were stashed within the other, nowhere else.

"Do… do you think I made the right choice with Miyu?" Fox asked, keeping his voice low, tying it into the barely audible hum of the ship.

"I think so," Krystal nodded, her voice quiet as well, wilting just a bit on the last syllable. "I couldn't figure out why she tried to help us at first, why she tried to hide our beacon. I think I understand now," she explained, her expression still. "She actually does look up to you, Fox."

Fox felt the weight of the words settle in his mind as he processed them. It was still a novelty to him, thinking that there were people who admired him. Who thought of him as a… hero. The tod didn't believe he deserved it, and he definitely knew that he wasn't a hero. He was just a guy with a ship and a gun. If Krystal was claiming that the lynx really did revere him though, well, how was he supposed to contradict her? All he could say was that the feline's respect was misplaced. That much was clear when he looked over at the blue fox sitting soundlessly at his side. He was no hero. He hadn't saved her planet. He hadn't protected her from the raiders. And now? He couldn't even safeguard her from her pain.

"I've felt it everywhere we've gone, Fox," the vixen mumbled, continuing. "Anytime somebody saw you, I could hear their thoughts and see their faces. Everyone here thinks that you're a hero." Krystal looked down, searching for the strength to finish her thought. Eventually she assembled enough courage, letting the words out into her lap.

"I think you're a hero, too."

The soft words cut into his heart like a needle, puncturing even the stalwart defenses he'd put up after his mind was made up. Fox almost let out an audible gasp when the shrill, jagged, freezing barb of guilt cut through his chest, settling like icy water in his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. His head wrenched around to look towards Krystal, but he found her still dejected, staring a million miles away.

In that moment, he almost, almost broke down. He almost did the worst thing he could imagine: asked Krystal to stay. Asked her to put herself in front of death's scythe. Asked her to forfeit her own life for him.

Fox felt his lips open, about to beg her to forgive him for trying to push her away, to find it in her heart to remain onboard, to join Star Fox. The words were on his lips, ready to leap out into the open. Just when he was about to let them tumble out, however, he felt a buzzing at his wrist. Krystal's driver had just arrived to pick her up. When the vulpine saw the message, he was hit with a tidal wave of conflicting feelings. Terror at losing the vixen. Guilt at how close he'd been to asking her to stay. Joy that she was finally safe from him. All of it crashed at the shores of his mind, drowning out all his other concerns.

Eventually he collected himself, clearing his throat and blinking a few times. He stood up, pushing the chair away. Fox faced his partner, and by some miracle, the vixen shifted to look back up at him. He stared into those bottomless, beautiful, perfect eyes for just a second before saying the one sentence he'd been dreading from their very first conversation.

"They're here for you."

/

Ringing. Their walk up to the front of the ship hadn't been silent, hadn't been blessed by soothing quiet. With every step Fox had taken towards the airlock, he'd heard a piercing, head-splitting ringing in his ears, like someone was screaming into his eardrum. The vulpine had tried shaking his head to clear the blaring sirens, but the motion had only made it worse, agitating the banshees that haunted his trip. Each step he took felt like it was through viscous water, weighed down by leaden anklets. By the end, Fox was almost panting, having to suppress a shiver as they stepped into the frozen night air. Fox and Krystal stopped just outside the door, under the faint orange glow of a docking light embedded in the side of the _Great Fox_. The lamp washed out their clothes and skin, and even if it felt like a blizzard outside, the shifting shadows of their clothes made it look like there was a fire lapping over their skin, between their bodies.

Krystal turned absently towards Fox, her footsteps reverberating against the metal scaffolding underfoot, each soft tap echoing against the monolithic exterior of his mothership and into the black night. Her hands were buried in her pockets for warmth, pulling her shoulders up close to herself protectively. Fox came to a stop only an inch away from the vixen, letting the two of them enter their intimate orbit one last time.

Despite all the things Fox wanted to say, needed to explain, had to get off his chest, he found all he could do was hold her gaze. The tod reflexively began to commit every last detail of her gorgeous face to his memory, the way her short muzzle collected into her ink black nose, the way the tips of her ears drooped just a little when she was tried. His eyes moved along the lines of her face as he memorized every single thing about her, because, whether he was willing to admit it or not, he knew that he loved her. He knew that he loved this assertive, comforting, affectionate fox. And he knew that he'd love her until he drew his very final breath. That's why he had to do this.

 _Because I love you too much to lose you._

Fox's reverie was soon broken, however, when the vixen shifted slightly, shuffling in and closing the last few inches that separated them. His breath caught in his throat when he felt her body heat flow over him, when her delicate arms wrapped around his back, pulling him into an embrace. This time though, the vulpine hesitated before he returned it. He could feel a tear forming in his eye as the vixen drew him in close, almost like she was clinging to him for support, afraid to let go of him out of fear for what would happen once they were untethered. What the vixen didn't know as that Fox was just as terrified of letting go as she was. Krystal believed that he was a solid foundation for her to take refuge in, but she was wrong. He was just as lost as she was, just as frightened of the storm that might separate them from each other. And so, for just a second, he had to accumulate the energy necessary to wrap his arms around Krystal, because he knew that when he did, they wouldn't be two people rooted to firm ground together. They'd simply be two fallen leaves in a violent tempest, clinging to each other for dear life. Once they let go, then what would they be? Alone. Despite that, he still managed to return the hug and then some, quickly sliding his arms around her shoulders and pulling her in flat against his chest. He buried his head into Krystal's shoulder, feeling more than one hot tear fall into the fabric of her jacket.

This was their final embrace.

That one simple thought petrified the vulpine. Could he survive without the vixen at his side? Could he wake up in the morning, knowing that he wouldn't hear her laugh anymore? Could he keep putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that they'd never get to talk late into the night on their blue couch again? And was sacrificing all of that worth keeping her alive? Of course, Fox knew the answer to that question before he even asked it.

He would do anything to keep Krystal alive. Anything. That's why she had to stay on Corneria.

Unhooking his arms from around the blue fox felt like torture, like he was ripping his body away from its soul with every motion. He could feel tears drip down the front of her jacket when they pulled away, and he found matching stains on his own clothing. Looking up, he saw something that made his stomach twist in knots. Despite everything, when Fox locked eyes with the vixen, he saw a smile on her face... and tears in her eyes. His knees wobbled underneath him, weak at seeing someone he loved so much, crying because of him. Shame gripped his insides. Fox couldn't think of a more terrible offense to commit against this innocent vixen than making her weep. She raised one hand up to brush away the water collecting on her eyelashes, but it was too late. The vixen's sorrowful face was already burned bright into his vision, and it would be there forever.

"I…" Krystal tried to say, but trailed off into silence, eventually closing her lips. She struggled for words that she knew would never come. The vixen fought for the single sentence that could make this all right. But the two of them knew that wouldn't happen. After a long moment spent scrutinizing each other's eyes, pleading for the correct solution to this painful mess, Krystal shook her head lightly, knowing it couldn't happen with something as clumsy as words.

After a futile moment, the vixen closed her eyes, shuffling in closer to the vulpine once more. This time, however, she didn't pull him into another embrace. Instead, she rested one hand lightly on the back of his neck, craning him forward slightly until their foreheads touched, their warm breaths intermingling and rustling the glowing fire on their clothes. Fox knew what the vixen was doing. He closed his own eyes when he felt Krystal knocking at the gates of his mind, just like she had when they meditated together. This time, however, he could feel the vixen with more clarity, could pinpoint where she was in his mind, could visualize her life force waiting at the door for him to let her in. He opened the entryway, allowing their minds to mix.

No matter how many times this happened, it was always an astonishing sensation. He could feel Krystal flowing and thinking inside his own mind, and he could feel himself disperse into the vixen's head in the same way. Here, no words were necessary to communicate. Here, they could explain themselves to each other without any pretense, without cumbersome sentences and sounds. As soon as the vixen joined his mind, he nearly gasped at the rush of emotion that took control of his body, filling his every cell to the brim. Krystal was setting the scene in front of him, and all he could do was sit back and witness their final words together.

Images and memories began to fill his mind's eye. They weren't his own, but the vixen's, a story the blue fox was assembling from her own experiences. Slowly, the mingling deep blacks and browns coalesced into something tangible, a place that he recognized. They were back on Cerinia, in the cave that Krystal had been imprisoned in when they first met. At first, everything was hazy, immaterial. The vixen was suspended in a dream, kept on the razor edge of sleep and consciousness. Fox could feel emotions and sensation pass over him, but it was if they had all been muffled by a thick pillow. But then, suddenly, something sliced through the curtain that had been hung up in front of them. The vixen fell to her knees when her crystalline prison shattered, stones digging into her fur, too weak to move. When she finally did regain her strength though, the vixen looked up. Up into the eyes of Fox McCloud. Fox could feel the shock and wonder that had seized her heart in that moment as if it was his own.

Fox couldn't help but smile when a rush of embarrassment passed over Krystal, upon hearing the fleeting thought that, for just a moment, Krystal had wondered if she was staring into the eyes of a god. It wasn't because of the conflagrant reds and oranges that seemed to ignite his fur, or even because of the foreign technology and flight suit that adorned his body, however. It was Fox's eyes. His two jade irises beamed brighter than the sun itself, a pair of stunning gemstones that called out into her very soul for her to stand close. They seemed to swear that if she stood near him, she would see miracles. For just a moment, she was sure that she was in the presence of a divine being, one that could show her things so astounding and magnificent, only a god could possibly know of them. Fox bit his lip when he realized that Krystal still believed that idea. She still marveled at his world, at being thrust into a universe full of magic that only the wisest seers in her village could have dreamed up. But more than anything… Krystal was in awe of Fox himself. A small blush pooled in his throat when he felt the vixen's admiration in its full force.

She wanted him to understand that even now, when she looked into his eyes, she still saw her greatest miracle. Her hero. Her guardian angel.

The scene melted away soon after that, shifting and blurring until he found himself standing in her room aboard the _Great Fox_. A burst of instinctual fear pulsed through his veins when he saw Krystal lying still on her bed, the hole freshly torn in her heart that she had worked so hard to repair. Fox calmed down after a few rapid heartbeats, reminding himself that it was just a vision when the vixen touched his mind with reassurance. At the far end of the room, there were a few raps at the door, followed by the mechanical sound of the entrance whirring open. In the memory, Krystal was unresponsive to the noise at first, but eventually, scrounged up enough effort to crane her head around slightly, peering at the source of the disturbance. When she finally managed to turn in bed, Krystal found herself once again staring up into Fox's concerned, caring face.

She'd seen the vulpine time and time again since she'd boarded the ship, but lost at sea in the turbulence of her mind, Krystal had never managed to say anything to him. However, she knew that this memory would be different. Today, Fox was going to break her free from the cage constructed by the darkness in her mind. And it was all because of one small object: the blueberry muffin he carried in his hand. When it came into view, Fox could feel the tidal wave of emotions that slammed into the vixen. Astonishment and wonder and pain, all swirled together into the perfect storm crashing at her shores. Fox was quick to jump up to support her, to catch her before she could buckle under the weight. This memory was clearly far more powerful than he'd ever truly known. Eventually, the vixen managed to redouble her strength, sending a small wash of appreciation to Fox's mind for his support. Fox reciprocated, smiling just a little. He'd never understood just how significant this moment had been to her, that this attempt had finally been the one that brought her back from the brink. And all because of one small, homemade muffin… It was enough to make him chuckle. Miraculously, the tod felt similar gratitude radiating from the vixen.

If the previous memory had been devoted to ensuring that Fox truly understood how important he was to the vixen, then this recollection demonstrated why she felt that way. The sight of their new vision soon gave way to a more fundamental interpretation of the memory, one filled with sounds and tastes and undiluted emotion. Fox immediately felt the weight that the blueberry muffin carried with Krystal. Its roots were buried deep in her history, and the safety and comfort she'd come to associate it with were staggering. It was tied into her most sacred memories: her parents. Its sweet taste reminded her of their loving relationship. Its warmth, the protectiveness they felt for each other. But once Cerinia had been destroyed... she'd been sure that she'd never have those feeling of belonging again. That she didn't even deserve them anymore. That was why his unassuming gift had meant the world to her. To her, it was a second chance to have that home again. To Krystal, it meant redemption. In that single moment, Fox realized with a small smile, Krystal thought that maybe she could find a new home with Fox McCloud.

The scene before them melted away again, and now, he was in the gym with the vixen, training alongside her. They flowed effortlessly alongside one another, first running laps in perfect synchronization, then sparring so gracefully it looked like they were dancing together. The pleasant feeling in Fox's mind only grew brighter the longer he relived all of these spectacular moments they had collected together, each and every one of them monumentally important to him for its own distinct, fundamental reason.

And yet, the longer Fox watched, the more he felt something else prowling through the crevices of his mind. The longer he watched all of these happy memories, the more it settled in that he would never get to experience any of this with her again. He would be left with these pleasant memories, but they would be just that. Memories. Fox's heart trembled as the bitter truth finally occurred to him in all its terrifying magnitude. He would never be able to experience any of this again. It would be little more than a time capsule of a momentary glimpse of a happiness that he couldn't have.

The longer he watched these memories, the more he felt the weight on his heart being saturated heavier and heavier with longing. Each time they laughed or competed was no longer jubilant. It was a reminder that it would never happen again. Fox fists balled in inexplicable sadness and rage, but how could he justify feeling this way? After all, this situation was entirely his fault. He'd decided this was for the best. This was how he could keep Krystal safe. But now, he couldn't avoid the one side effect of his choice that was staring him dead in the eye, settling into his very soul with a crushing weight that was only growing more overwhelmingly massive: he might never get to see Krystal again.

That was the thought that broke him. It felt like someone had taken a steel mallet to his gut, leaving him writhing on the floor in visceral pain. The dam Fox had built up in his head snapped, a deep, core-shaking fissure cracked straight down the middle. Panic followed quickly on horror's heels. How could he live without her sunny disposition filling the _Great Fox_ with life? How could he even think straight without the vixen next to him? How could he survive without Krystal? Deep down, he finally acknowledged something that he'd denied from their very first conversation. But denial never changed the truth, he realized. It only put it off until it was too sickening to ignore any longer. And under the layers of rubble that his parents' deaths had left in his heart, deep in a compartment of his psyche that only the vixen had managed to touch since that fateful day, he could feel that singular truth more clearly than he'd ever felt anything else.

Fox McCloud couldn't survive without Krystal.

With his entire world spinning around him, crumbling into dust at the edges, Krystal changed the scene one last time. It only lasted for a fleeting moment, but it was enough to convey everything that the blue fox needed to say to him. To capture the sentiment that words never could. It was just a single still image, but he knew exactly what he was looking at in a heartbeat. It was the two of them, sitting on their blue couch in the lounge. All of the love, all of the pain, all of the comfort, all of the stress of the world around them had disappeared when they had been on this couch together. Fox knew instantly why Krystal was showing him this picture. This was the place that they could shrug off everything else that was burdening them in life. This was where they could forget about the past. This was where they could let their entire world become each other.

This was home.

With that, their mental edifice dissolved, dissolving into a fine powder that blew away in the night wind, leaving them as just two foxes, pressed together under the glowing orange lights of the ship. For what felt like an eternity, they were both still. They were locked together, their fur intertwined. All they did was stare into each other's eyes. They watched, looking from side to side, scanning each other's faces. They didn't know what they were looking for, but that didn't impede them in their search.

But eventually, those million endless moment passed, spent solely wrapped up in the other. And then… it was time for Krystal to leave. With nothing left to say, the vixen leaned backwards from Fox. She took a step towards the elevator, still facing him.

 _No._

The single word sounded like it came from all directions at once, a clear, single syllable free from echo or distortion. The word didn't originate in his own mind, or even from the mental bond he and the vixen shared. This came from somewhere primal. This wasn't what the universe intended. This was wrong. Still, the vixen took another step back. Now, she was out of arm's reach.

 _No!_

But the vixen didn't stop. Painfully, she gritted her teeth, and with a motion like she was ripping a thread that bound them together, she turned away from him. When it tore, he felt a bonfire roar to life in his chest. It burned hot and searing, fueled by nothing but pure animal instinct. Suddenly, he no longer found himself devoid of words. A million different clamoring exclamations all clawed into his throat, desperate to be the first to leap off his tongue. He opened his mouth to say any of them, but something still blocked the passage, rendering him helpless and mute. Krystal was walking away from him.

 _Stop!_

Fox's world was turning black. Every one of his nerves was shot with adrenaline. This was it. This was the last time he would see Krystal. He wouldn't survive this separation. It felt like someone was choking him, drowning him, and his body could only fight back in futility. In a desperate bid for life, his hand shot down into his pocket for something, anything as an anchor in the turbulent waters that were on the verge of snuffing him out.

And against all odds, Fox found his lifeline.

His fingers closed around a solid metal rod that he'd stashed away in his pocket that afternoon, but had forgotten about in the fervor of the day's action. Frenzied, he ripped the small object out into the open. He stared down at it, reveling in its dull gold and azure luster glimmering in the low light. In that moment, it reminded him of the last twinkling ray of sunshine piercing through the ocean that he was sinking deeper and deeper into. This would be his last chance. But that meant he still had a chance. This wasn't over yet.

"Wait!"

Fox heard the words before he realized that he'd said them. When he regained his self-awareness, he was reaching out to the vixen, one of his feet stepped towards the elevator she was about to step onto. The vulpine could still feel the reverberations of the strong, sharp word on his vocal cords, his plea for her to stay.

The vixen turned to look at him, her hand only inches away from calling the rickety lift that would steal her away from him forever. In the span of a breath, Fox closed the gap between them, taking several brisk steps forward until he was next to her. His breath came in ragged bouts, now that he had finally been given a momentary reprieve from his drowning. He would make the most of it.

"Wait, Krystal. I still have something for you," he said haltingly, the words tripping out of his mouth like an inelegant yet forceful geyser. Krystal was too stunned to say anything, simply looking up at the tod in shock. He had her attention. That was all Fox needed. "I forgot something I had for you. I think you'll want it." Fox extended his hand out, offering the small object to Krystal. Her eyes went wide when she realized what the vulpine was holding. He could see her chest freeze in mid-inhalation as she blinked once, twice, not believing her eyes. She clutched her hands to her chest, not daring to reach out and grab it from Fox's hand for fear that it might vanish into the wind if she did. Her staff.

He could sense Krystal's astonishment, so he pressed on with his explanation, letting the words come unfiltered directly from his heart. "When we were still on your planet, before we left, I managed to pick up some of the pieces of your staff after it was crushed. I didn't get all of them, but I had enough to reassemble most of it. Slippy helped me machine some of the missing parts, and I spent the last couple weeks rebuilding it." He offered it up once more, biting his lip. "I know it's not exactly the way it was before, but… If you want it, it's yours, Krys."

For every rapid breath the vixen took, his dread doubled. Had he done something wrong in reconstructing it? Should he have left it where it was? Did she even want anything from him anymore? All these questions and more zipped through his skull as Krystal stared at the staff, unblinking.

The tod could practically hear the angels singing from above when finally, Krystal managed to release one of her shaky hands from her chest. It stretched out tentatively, slowly, until it hovered directly above his palm. Fox could feel the vixen's tension as she waited only centimeters away from her staff. Her aura was replete with conflicting emotions, thoughts of home, thoughts of Fox, but above all, a disbelief that she could possibly be looking at her own staff. She thought she had lost everything from her home. From Cerinia. But somehow, Fox had managed to save one small sliver of it, just for her.

A moment later, Fox let out an unsteady breath of relief when he felt the staff's solid mass leave his palm. Looking up, he saw Krystal clutching it in both hands, testing to make sure it was real, and not some cruel illusion. Fox could practically hear the blue fox's pounding heartbeat in her throat when she moved it to her off hand, holding it with the same natural warrior's grace he'd seen in her posture so many times. The staff responded to her instantly when she flicked her wrist. The metal rod slid outwards in both directions, expanding into its full, lethal length. As it grew larger and longer, it revealed a swirling mosaic of dull gold and lapis blue snaking around the exterior of the weapon. Every so often the rod would encounter a refurbished section of blocky black metal, pieces of the staff that Fox had needed to recreate with the materials he had on the _Great Fox_. When the staff finally ceased its expansion, it stood intimidating and sturdy in Krystal's trained grip, a pillar of solid blue, gold, and now, black. The base collected into a tapered, sharp point, while the head morphed into a solid spherical counterweight. The only thing that was missing now was the beautiful blue crystal that had been placed in her staff when he first found it. He'd been unable to find the original gemstone that had been embedded in the weapon when it was crushed, but as luck would have it, he still had one last trick up his sleeve to complete the weapon.

Digging in his other pocket, Fox managed to find the last gift he had for Krystal. Pulling it out into the open, it cascaded the two of them in a shower of sparkling light, as the safety lamps reflected and refracted off the single crystal that Fox had managed to retrieve from the walls of the cavern Krystal had been trapped it. He offered it up to the vixen as well, opening his lips to speak as she carefully removed it from between his fingertips.

"I know how much you've lost, Krystal. Nothing I can do will ever be able to repair the damage, not entirely. I can't fix your staff exactly the way it was before, because when something is destroyed… you can't always salvage all of the pieces." Fox gulped, pausing. He knew what he had to do. "But that doesn't mean you can't make something new from the rubble," he said, gesturing towards the staff she now held in her hands. "I'll never be able to replace the hole in your heart exactly the way it was, Krystal. But that doesn't mean we can't make something new out of it." Fox took a deep breath, staring intently into the beautiful, bottomless eyes of the vixen that he couldn't live without.

"If you want to make something new with us, Krys… Then I would be humbled if you joined Star Fox."

Fox could feel everything shift once he'd said those words. Suddenly, the world wasn't bleak and black anymore. Suddenly, it felt like all the lights of the eternally vigilant city around him sprang to life, alight with color and vivacity. Suddenly, the night didn't feel like ice, but like fire. Suddenly, the look in Krystal's eye wasn't despair.

It was joy.

Fox had to restrain himself from breaking down in tears when he saw the blood rush back into Krystal's cheeks. His words inflated her posture, previously hunched and tired, but now, the vixen was cautiously standing back upright, like she'd had heavy chains unlocked from around her torso. Krystal didn't say anything, as she only stared up into his eyes in unabashed adoration and care, with the wetness of a happy tear collecting in her eye. He realized he wasn't in any better shape than her, as he stared down at her with his goofy, earnest smile.

Without hesitation, the vixen brought the new gemstone up to the empty indentation in the head of her staff. As if it was magnetized, the crystal jumped from her grasp and clicked into place, matching the grooved cut of the hole perfectly. The crystal began to luminesce the same bright blue as the vixen's eyes, illuminating the floor around them, casting long, dancing shadows on the titanium plating in the background. The pair was mesmerized by the light show, watching as the gem breathed new life into her staff, transforming it from an inert piece of metal into something that seemed like a simple extension of the vixen herself. But the best was yet to come. After a moment, the staff and the gem began to settle down, the brilliant lights dimming until they were a steady ethereal glow, drawing simple colorful lines and shapes on her hands. But when the colors finally calmed, her staff's crystal no longer glowed a simple solid blue.

Instead, the blue gem now swirled with lines of bright, fiery orange.

Krystal only let out a content hum when she saw the matrix of mixed colors. Fox couldn't help but admire the vixen, who was clearly back in all her glory. Back to the vixen who he had fallen head over heels in love with. No trace of the depression that had haunted her earlier remained. She was a phoenix who had stripped off the last remnants of her old life, and emerged from the ashes in even more glory than she had entered them with.

Before Fox could register the movement, Fox felt the vixen's arms thrown around him, pulling him into a crushing, needful hug. It didn't take the vulpine a single second to reciprocate, as he pulled her in tight. There were no tears this time, no sobbing nor sadness. For just a moment, the two of them fell into perfect harmony, existing on exactly the same plane of reality. Their thoughts, their wants, their needs, their very souls all overlapped, letting two become one.

Fox realized then that he'd never been afraid of Krystal saying no to joining Star Fox. He'd been afraid of her saying yes. And this was still terrifying. He knew that this would be perilous for Krystal. Fox knew the risk that this would pose to her. But he also knew that leaving her behind would be unbearable. Unfathomable. He knew that for some cosmic reason, he was meant to be beside this vixen. Fox loved her, more than he loved his own life. As long as he never let her go, everything would be perfect. One last thought crossed the mental bridge between the two of them as they stayed locked in their embrace for minutes longer, needing the intimate presence of the only other person in the universe who truly mattered.

 _Welcome to Star Fox. Welcome home._

END OF ACT I

/

A/N: Wow… It has been a long time since I've published a chapter of BfI. Far too long, really. I decided to take a small break from it to work on some of my other projects, because I felt like I needed some time to get in tune with the characters and develop more of the story behind it, and, well, I hope that you agree it's paid off. I'm personally very happy with how this chapter has turned out. If you haven't had a chance to look at some of the other stuff I've been working on in my time off from BfI, I'd recommend going and checking it out! There's something for everyone :)

But yeah, not only is this a new chapter of BfI, but this is the last chapter of Act 1 too! A lot went down this chapter, and we're going to see even more cool stuff start going down in the second act of the story! But yeah, I hope you guys are enjoying this story, and are excited for the rest of the journey, because BfI is only getting started. As always, I have to thank my co-author Furfur (general whitefur) for helping me out with not only this chapter, but this story as a whole. He's been absolutely invaluable, so a huge, huge thanks goes out to him. I appreciate all the hard work you've put in to this man :D

But yeah, that just about covers it! Hope y'all enjoyed, and stay tuned for more stuff in the future!


	9. Act II: Chapter 9 Runner

ACT II

Chapter 9 | Runner

There were few things that Fay Spaniel loved more than running. A thorough back rub, maybe. Definitely a good bowl of sticky rice and orange chicken. But other than those two things, you'd be hard pressed to find something that brought the same level of satisfaction to this small spaniel as the sound of her shoes tapping against the ground while her arms and legs pumped in unison, carrying her petite frame along recklessly fast. She let out a loud giggle as she slid around the corner of an air conditioning unit, pushing hard off the gravel underfoot so that she'd have enough speed to skid through a tear in a chain link fence that she'd cut a couple months ago. Fay dropped down to her knees while she was still running, curling up and letting momentum carry her through the tight gap in the metal barrier. A shadow was cast over her face as she passed underneath a metallic ventilation shaft, but she sprang back up to her feet once she could feel the sun on her fur again, resuming her sprint without ever losing an ounce of inertia.

She was getting close now, Fay realized when she looked down at the route highlighted on her communicator. Just a few more buildings, and she'd be in position to start the mission. Fay let out a series of admonishing tuts when she heard a loud string of cursing coming from behind her. The spaniel glanced over her shoulder, and sure enough, she saw the police officer that had been pursuing her for the past couple minutes caught up in the sheared metal of the fence, its points digging into his clothes and keeping him from chasing her any further. Fay didn't have many advantages in life, but one that she had always made the most of was her size. She only came up to most people's biceps on a good day, and when she was sopping wet, she still clocked in lighter than some house plants. Regardless, Fay had always seen that as an advantage. She'd harnessed and tamed her naturally boundless energy until she could run at top speed for hours without breaking a sweat. She glanced down at her lithe arms as she jogged. They were her most deceptive weapons. On the surface, she certainly didn't have the musculature that most people found appealing, but she'd found that she never really needed it. She could tire your average weight lifter out long before her heart rate had even risen an inch. And, of course, it meant that she could fit through tight spaces, which the cop behind her was still struggling with.

She shook her head with a lopsided smile, turning back to the task at hand. Now that she'd lost the pursuers chasing her on foot, she'd have to shake the drones that were still hovering over her like an overprotective mom. Fay shot an annoyed look up at them now, rolling her eyes at the handful of robots that had their cameras fixed on her from high above, their feeds surely streaming the footage back to some operations center in the Cornerian Heart. She stuck her tongue out at them. The drones were annoying, but they were easy to get rid of, if you knew what you were doing. In fact, the spaniel saw her opportunity coming up fast. Fay doubled down in her sprint, pushing herself to the limit to gain every bit of velocity that she could. The tempo of her feet hitting the gravel rose to a fever pitch as she felt a wonderful burning in her legs that let her know she was hurtling along at peak performance. In the distance, she could see a small white ledge approaching and growing larger in her vision. Each crash of rubber against stone brought it closer, each short huff of breath from her lungs made it more imminent.

 _Just a few more steps, and… Now!_

Fay tucked her right leg in tight underneath her at the last possible moment, coiling the tendons into a stiff spring until her calves sang with stored tension. And then, with a single quick breath, she shoved hard off the ground, sending herself sailing through the air. As soon as her feet left the ground, she felt herself turn weightless. She'd given herself the launch she needed, and now, everything else was in gravity's hands. Fay glanced down, taking in a sight that still made her stomach do flips if she stopped to think about it for too long. Corneria rotated about its axis thousands of feet below her, the people just specks in her vision, the trees and plants and cars little more than splashes of color on a great grey canvas. Wind roared in her ears as the spaniel leapt between the rooftops of two towering apartment buildings on the edge of town. When she looked up, she could see her reflection in the tinted glass of the building she'd just flung herself towards. Her snow white fur rustled in the air, and her long ears hung suspended in free fall. Her arms circled at her sides to keep her balance, and her legs were stretched far apart, one still recovering from pushing off, and one anticipating the landing that was fast approaching. A giant smile was plastered to her face, and glee lit up her sky blue eyes. And of course, she couldn't ignore the bright red bow that flapped in the wind, nestled safely right on top of her head.

But of course, as she'd learned the hard way on more than one occasion, everything that goes up must come back down. Just as quickly as she'd pushed off the previous rooftop, she felt her leg absorb the impact of landing on the next. Her shoe dug into the concrete and her knee collapsed under her, giving the rest of her body ample time to move to the safety of solid ground. Once she was in position, she threw her weight forward, pulling herself into an acrobatic roll that distributed most her momentum into her back and torso, rather than into shattering her bones. Her arms pushed off the floor once the world had rotated back to its proper orientation, and again the spaniel was back off to the races. Now, she just had to ditch these pesky security drones.

The spaniel took a quick right, grabbing hold of an upright pole with her hand and redirecting her momentum so she was speeding towards a roof access door on the other side of the space. Drones were great a tracking people in wide open spaces, but their routines for trying to hunt people inside buildings left a lot to be desired. Fay picked up speed once again, but this time, she wasn't going to concentrate all that power in her legs. Instead, when she was only a few paces away from the sturdy metal door, she threw her right shoulder forward quickly, tucking her head down and bracing for the hit. She gritted her teeth as the entirety of her inertia, focused entirely in her tensed shoulder, slammed against the solid alloy of the door. Normally, a move like that would've done little more than rattle the doorframe and pulverize her collarbone. Believe her, it had happened before. But instead of leaving her whimpering and clutching her arm, she heard a small _zap_ in her right ear, and instantly the door gave way, flying open until the door handle embedded itself in the drywall inside. Fay glanced over habitually as she sprinted through the forced doorway. She sighed with relief, seeing the blue glow of her personal shield, thankfully still intact, slowly fading back into transparency.

One of the first lessons Fay had learned as a runner was that she went through clothes faster than she did ice packs. All the sliding and jostling and abuse of her outfit tended to tear it to shreds, so she'd invested in a lightweight personal shield to help keep her bill for new athletic gear down at the end of the month. Of course, it had proved to be good for a lot more than fewer torn jeans. It couldn't stop a bullet or even a laser bolt, but it did protect her from the occasional underestimated jump or stumble when she was in a rush. And she hated scratching up her elbows and knees, so it was definitely a must.

The spaniel centered her vision once she'd busted down the door, seeing a narrow staircase leading down several flights. She took them three at a time, sidling herself over the railing every opportunity she could. Within seconds, she found herself in the middle of the apartment building's gym. Fay's smile widened, seeing that the place was packed on the weekend afternoon, and almost everybody was dressed in the same kind of running gear she was. She glanced surreptitiously out one of the large panel windows as she slowed her pace to a casual walk, and slipped the bow off her head and into one of her pockets. The drones that had been following her from the skies hovered outside, their cameras trained inside the building, scouting the area for any trace of her. A soft bloom of blue light scattered out from one of the drone's sensors as it began to scan people inside the building. The bots looked at a couple of different factors when they were trying to ID somebody, but the most important to fool was its gait sensor.

Cornerian security drones could analyze the way a person moved and walked, building up an identification that was just as unique as DNA. However, a gait test was much easier to fool than a blood test. Quickly, the spaniel grabbed a heavy weight off one of the nearby racks and held it in one hand. Fay had to lean to one side to carry it comfortably, which was exactly what she wanted. Soon, the drone started to scan her walking patterns. She laughed under her breath when it was thrown off by her unusual stance and timing, looking nothing like her recorded bearing. She'd tricked them.

Fay lugged the weight across the room to dupe any other drones' tests, only setting it down when she slipped through the exit door to another flight of stairs. Once the canine was out of the view of the robots, her shoes squeaked against the clean cement as she threw herself back into her sprint. She was making good time, and had no intention of forcing the rest of her crew to wait up on her.

Fay wove through a few more startled upper class Cornerians wandering around their apartment's halls, slipping through several breezeways until she was confident that she'd smuggled herself outside the police search perimeter. Fay headed back up for the rooftops, breathing the clean, fresh air into her lungs and allowing herself just a moment of respite before heading back into the tangle. She put her hands on her hips, glancing around her beautiful city from on high. Fay knew better than anybody how many problems it had, hell, that's why she even had a job in the first place. But as long as you didn't dig too deep, on its surface, Corneria City really was something out of a fairy tale.

 _Alright, that's plenty of down time. Let's go!_

Hopping up to her toes, the spaniel took off again, the crunch of gravel against her rubber soles like music to her ears. Her target loomed tall in the distance, a transit repository owned by Space Dynamics that was holding the cargo she'd been tipped off about. Fay leapt between two more buildings, folding her legs up underneath her to gain clearance over a protective line of razor wire. The cargo she was after would only be stored there for about half a day before being shipped to a more secure bunker somewhere else on Corneria, so if she wanted to heist the payload, it was now or never. Fay came to a sudden scampering halt, letting her body fall limp over the precipice of the roof. The spaniel entered free fall for a moment before her gloved hands grabbed hold of a water pipe that brought her to a safe stop pressed up against the side of the building. She relaxed her grip slightly and began to slide down the pole. Friction heated up her knees and fingers wherever they came in contact with the rough tube. Fay shoved hard off the wall once she was close enough to the next rooftop, extending her leg out as far it would go and hitting the ground at top speed.

The spaniel traversed the skyline with dexterity and ease, vaulting between buildings faster than most people on the ground were walking alongside them. This was her city, and she knew its every facet like the back of her hand. She knew every shortcut, and she knew the fastest way to travel between any two points on the map without being seen or heard. Of course, she'd let herself be detected by the cops this time, but it wasn't just for a few extra difficulty points. She'd needed to raise a few alarms in the previous neighborhood so that the heat would be light in this district. It'd buy her a few extra seconds hopefully, and that was all she ever needed. Fay threw her weight against a wall just as she approached a longer gap, letting out a short _huff_ as the air left her lungs and she passed into the void of a jump that even she couldn't normally make. However, Fay managed to scuffle her feet against the wall with the little traction her soles could grab, giving her the last bit of upwards acceleration she needed to safely clear the gap. The canine fell to her knees on the other side, sliding to a stop in front of her final destination. The warehouse.

Somewhere inside that building was her treasure. Somewhere in that building were answers. And she had every intention of getting them, for herself and her team. Fay glanced down at her communicator, brushing a few stray bits of dirt and dust off its screen. Sure enough, it seemed like some of the police security detail had left the building, reassigned to trying to track her down at her last known location. Little did they know, they'd taken the bait exactly like she wanted. Fay took a deep breath and bounced on her toes a few times, quickly glancing up the monolithic mosaic of navy blue windows that stretched well above her. It was time to make the leap.

With that, Fay, hit the ground with bent knees, and like compressed springs bursting free from their restraints, the spaniel's legs exploded out from underneath her — sending her hurtling straight for one of the windows of the building. The sun's glare reflected off the glass and hit her eyes, but her focus was on one track. When the spaniel was only a single stride away from the wall in front of her, she pushed hard off the ground, swinging her leg up in front of the rest of her body. She tensed her calves at the last second, gritting her teeth until…

 _Smash!_

The spaniel's eyes opened, and all around her the world had morphed into a wonderland of twinkling lights and clinking glass. The heel of her shoe had shattered the window, cracking it into a million fragments. Each one was raining down to the floor around her, a hailstorm of razors and one small canine. She spun herself around in the air as she fell, craning her neck down so she could see where she was about to land. Her eyes went wide when she not only observed the ground rushing up to meet her, but two of the three police guards that were stationed in this room as well. Muscle memory kicked in, and the spaniel's legs bent so her feet were positioned directly over her hapless victim's back. The guard spun around in place to see what the sudden explosion over him was, but it was too late. With the dull crunch of broken bones resonating through her legs, the guard under her gave way, his torso and skull colliding against the tile and as the small spaniel pounced on top of him. The guard was knocked unconscious on impact. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of his partner.

The spaniel glanced to the side, seeing the second ripping his blaster free from his holster and begin to swing it around to face her. Fay wasn't about to let that happen. She slid forward on her back by shoving herself off the first cop's immobile body, the fabric of her top squealing grumpily against the floor. She flicked her leg out once more, and the guard's breath rushed out of his lungs when her heel connected with his gut. He doubled over in pain, his weapon clattering to the floor with his arms crossed over his stomach. Fay saw one more opening, her eyes glinting in gleeful strategy. Her forearms braced against the floor while her other leg stiffened beneath her, ready to snap forward at a moment's notice. In one fluid motion, Fay released that pent up pressure, and suddenly her foot was skyrocketing upwards at a breakneck pace. The point of her shoe connected with the guard's jaw, the solid blow jerking his head backwards before sending him crumpled to the floor. Her back arched upwards, and she used the momentum of her speeding foot to carry her into a quick backflip that landed her up on her feet, ready to take out anybody else that dared challenge the tiny spaniel's might. Unfortunately, there was only one other person still in the room, and they were going to be a little trickier to disable.

For a split second, her eyes locked with a sniper who was positioned on a suspended walkway high up in the room. He looked bewildered at the sight that had just unfolded in front of his eyes, unable to do anything than stare down in astonishment. The spaniel knew better than to push her luck, and she took his hesitation as opportunity to sprint for cover deeper in the room. He blinked once, regaining his composure and hefting the rifle up to his shoulder. With an immense _bang_ that pained her sensitive, fluffy ears, the final guard loosed a bolt of plasma at her. Fay was too fast for him though, and his missed shot only left behind a charred scorch mark on the planter box she scurried behind. The spaniel wasn't about to lose her momentum, however. If she stopped moving, she was toast. She slid out the from behind the other end of her cover without missing a beat, covering the rest of the distance between herself and her foe before he could reset his aim. The cop let out one more shot, but her silhouette was too small and moving too quickly for him to land an accurate bullet.

Now that she had a few seconds to turn the tables on him, the canine clicked a button on her wrist, lighting up a thick metal and plastic bracer she wore on her forearm. She rotated her arm so that it was facing upwards at a metal vent, and with a gust of pressurized air being discharged, a small steel grappling hook shot out of the bracer. It sailed upwards until it collided with a ventilation duct on the ceiling, flattening on impact and magnetizing around a support rail. Another advantage of her small size was that almost everything could support her teensy weight. Fay clicked one more button on the bracer just as the final guard's head peeked over the edge, but his eyes went wide and he scrambled backwards when he saw his tiny opponent sailing through the air, being dragged upwards by the sturdy cable. He regained his balance once the canine had disengaged the grappling hook, leaving her feet firmly planted on the same platform as the sniper. The officer blinked once in bewilderment when he saw the earnest smile lighting up Fay's face, but it didn't faze him. He snarled back at her, tossing his rifle away and ripping the combat knife off of his belt.

The guard took a couple calculated swipes at the spaniel, but she sidestepped each one easily, backpedaling, ducking, and shuffling so his blade fell an inch short of its target each time. A deep growl hit Fay's ears, originating from an annoyed rumbling within her opponent. She saw a brief glimmer in his eye, thinking he had the upper hand because she was backed up against a locked door. The guard pressed his advantage, lunging forward with his knife pointed right for her chest. The confident look on his face morphed into alarm when he saw the spaniel leap up into the air, but it was already too late for him to cancel out his momentum. Fay grabbed his attacking arm by the elbow, yanking down on it hard so he would stumble underneath her as she leapt over him. Fay heard two _thuds_ back to back: the first a quiet sound as she landed gracefully on her feet again, and a second as the guard's face slammed unceremoniously into the metal door. She did a few stretches while waiting for him to struggle back to his feet, giggling a little when he muttered a few curses and fumbled to pick his knife back up off the ground.

Murder was in the officer's eyes now, a look of hatred in his expression for making a fool out of him. Without thinking, he threw himself into a hasty offensive, his careful swipes now morphed into rage fueled, wild swinging. He brought his arm down fast, aiming right for the spaniel's shoulder. Fay realized that his blow was moving too quickly for her to deflect it again, but in his fury, he'd left his bottom half totally unprotected. Seeing her opening, Fay dropped down onto her side, perching herself up on one arm and coiling her legs up underneath her. Before the officer could react, she turned them loose, kicking his shin with as much force as she could put into her heel. He stumbled when his feet were knocked out from underneath him, and Fay saw panic written all over his face as he started to fall down directly on the spot where she was now lying in ambush. Fay grabbed hold of his uniform with both hands, springing to her feet while simultaneously flinging him face first into the floor. In a single motion, the spaniel grabbed the shock baton she had holstered on her belt, and clicked a hidden button at its base that brought sparks to flaring into existence up and down its surface. The guard tried to scramble to his feet when he heard the telltale electrical crackle and hum of her weapon, but it was too late. Fay brought the baton down in a shower of sparks, connecting hard with the vulnerable space between the guard's shoulder blades. His muscles spasmed for a few seconds, locking up as his body went rigid on the floor. And after a few seconds, the guard went limp, out cold. Fay shrunk the weapon down and clicked it off, stashing it away on her belt, grinning with victory. She prodded him with one foot to make sure he was really out, but he barely budged at all.

Fay let out a short breath, putting her hands on her hips and looking around the room. Now that the heat had been taken care of, she needed to find a way to her true target. Several floors above her was a large room, used for processing Space Dynamics deliveries. The package she was after had been locked down while it was in transit, but here in this package center, security was considerably lighter, especially now that most of the cops were out looking for her in the previous neighborhood. The spaniel turned around, scanning the wall at the back of the walkway, and saw what she'd been searching for. She jogged over towards the door that the officer's face had been mashed against a few moments earlier, but this time, she was more interested in the vent that was above it. Fay sized it up quickly, nodding to herself when it looked like she could probably squeeze into it. With another rush of air, her grappling hook embedded itself into the slots of the vent, and in one quick motion, she ripped the cover off its hinges. Fay let out a little yip when she saw the vent hurtling towards her, barely ducking in time for it to zoom over her own head… and land with an uncomfortably shrill _clank_ on the now definitively unconscious guard behind her. Whoops.

Fay shrugged it off, focusing her thoughts back on the mission and scrambling up into the ventilation before another officer could walk in and witness the mess she'd made. The thin metal around her reverberated and wavered as she crawled, but it never gave out under her weight. Score again for her diminutive stature. She pulled up building plans on her communicator when she reached a crossroads in her path. To the right was just a dead end after a couple more twists and turns, but the left hand vent would take her deeper into the building, and closer to her next target: the central routing shaft. After a couple more minutes of worming through the cramped close quarters, she had to catch herself from toppling over the end of her path after an abrupt turn.

Fay peered out of her little ventilation shaft, and was almost carried away by the strong gust of wind that was hurtling upwards. She was in a giant cylinder, almost like a chimney stack. Instead of carrying smoke or exhaust out, however, there were dozens of drones all zipping through the air, riding the wind currents up. Each one was carrying a package on its underside, the small drones only holding small boxes or envelopes, but a couple of the largest bots were burdened by massive crates that easily could've weighed several hundred pounds. Each of them was traveling upwards at different speeds, some of them obviously better equipped to handle their weight than others as they carried their deliveries to their next destination. Fay squirmed inside the vent, negotiating her limbs until she was sitting on the edge, her legs dangling out over the mile high drop to the ground. That wasn't what her attention was fixed on, however. Instead, Fay's eyes were focused on a drone about a hundred feet below her, the gap closing fast as it buzzed towards its destination. She shuffled forward another inch, feeling the sharp edge of the metal digging into her thighs. Fay braced her arms on either side of the exit, taking a couple quick, deep breaths. The familiar tingle of anticipation pricked in her veins. Now it was only about fifty feet away…

 _Forty feet… thirty… twenty… now!_

In a single fluid motion, Fay arched her back and shoved off her final remnant of solid ground, swinging her legs forward and throwing herself into the void. Wind whistled in her ears and whipped through her fur as she fell, arcing downwards in the wind tunnel. However, just when it seemed like she was going to end up as little more than a grease stain on the ground below, she collided with the drone that her eyes were still affixed to. It was a rough landing, and only years of practice kept her from having the wind knocked out of her when she landed in the back of the gargantuan drone. She still had to scamper a little to maintain her grip on the slick plastic, one of her feet slipping and dangling back over the plummet without a safety net. Once the spaniel was sure that she wasn't about to turn into the world's lamest and shortest shooting star, she tentatively risked getting her feet beneath her, cautiously bringing herself into a low crouch on her hijacked ride. She couldn't help but laugh in astonishment a little, marveling at the feeling of surfing in midair, the breeze like a spray of seawater, the wobbly, steadily rising drone her board. Fay's heart pounded in her chest, exhilaration painted all over her face.

Before long, Fay was standing upright, rising floor by floor up the tunnel, sailing past layer after layer of security and police up to her final goal. The hitchhiker peeked over the edge of her ride when her current drone began its docking procedures. She still needed to get higher than this, and this one wasn't going to get her there. It only took her a second to spot another large drone rising quickly nearby, but her window to make the jump would be slim. Not wanting to be served up on a silver platter to a group of surprised guards by her docking drone, Fay positioned herself near the edge, ready to leap to the next platform. Legs coiled and tensed, a glimmer of elation sparkled in her eyes as she leapt back into the chasm, ready to pounce.

Unfortunately, those same eyes went wide with panic when she felt her feet slip underneath her. Her stomach dropped like a stone when the drone was pushed backwards by her jump, as if she'd tried to vault on a bed of ice, leaving her to topple into free fall. Suddenly, the wind in her ears wasn't pleasant and refreshing, but roaring and enraged. It tore and whipped at her fur and clothes while her heart lodged itself in her throat. Acting entirely on instinct, Fay shot her hand out just as her landing drone raced by in her vision… and her reach connected. Her hand closed around whatever grip she had earned with steely tenacity, knowing her life depended on not letting go. A series of shaky, rapid fire breaths escaped from her lungs as she dangled from one arm above the vertigo-inducing drop. She rocked back and forth in the air, but by some miracle, it seemed as though she was safe for the time being. Glancing up, Fay saw that her fingers had missed the drone entirely, and were instead clutched around the long, rectangular package that it was carrying. Quickly, she threw her other hand around the box so that she wasn't just dangling by one hand. When she did that however, she heard the wood and cardboard of the box begin to groan and bend. Realizing that she might have just found the one object in Lylat that _couldn't_ support her weight, she decided to bug out before gravity decided to assert its dominance again.

Another drone was rising rapidly only a few feet in front of her, and she decided it would have to do. With as much care and caution as Fay was capable of producing, she slowly began to swing her legs, rocking back and forth, wincing every time she heard her support complain. Fortunately, when she finally let go on her final oscillation, her handholds didn't snap, and she flung herself out towards her new platform. Thankfully, she had learned from her first and second hard landings, and made sure to expect the bobbing and jostling of the robot once she touched down on its back. She bent down into a low crouch with her feet positioned in a wide stance, both her hands splayed flat against the white plastic. She stayed stock still for several second, glaring suspiciously at the drone beneath her feet, just waiting for it to get feisty with her like the other two had. Eventually however, it became clear that this one wasn't going to act up immediately, so she rose back up to a stand, brushing the dust off her knees and shoulders.

She was able to catch her breath for about a minute as her lift continued to rise up higher and higher. A couple times the bot she was riding would pull into a new dock, and each time she got a little better at jumping between them, sometimes running up the cylindrical wall and shoving off its firm surface for leverage, other times hopping delicately between support struts crisscrossing the room and tightrope walking across taut cables until she could ambush a new drone. Eventually, Fay let out a sigh of relief when she saw the bold text _FLOOR 134-C_ stenciled in red paint on the wall. This was her stop. She grinned as she skipped gracefully between three rising drones like stepping stones, having gained her sea legs and grown accustomed to how much each would give whenever she used them as a launch pad. On her final step, she threw herself into the wind tunnel one last time, almost regretting that she was already done with her platforming challenge. It had been fun, even if it had nearly killed her a couple times. Her gloves squeaked when she grabbed hold of a horizontal bar right above the docking door she was aiming for, swinging herself forward and using her forward momentum to catapult herself into the dark opening. She skidded along her legs and backside when she hit the ground, sliding forward until she entered her final destination. It was a big, brightly lit room, with a series of metal catwalks around the perimeter, presumably meant to be used for defending what was sitting alone in the middle of the space. It was the entire point of this mission: a small, black data sphere perched atop a clear pillar, just asking for somebody to come and whisk it away. Fay cracked her knuckles, putting her hands on her hips. As much as she'd love to take its tempting invitation and heist it right away, she knew Space Dynamics well enough to know that it could never be that easy.

With a quiet sound of fabric shuffling, Fay undid a velcro pouch on the front of her running vest, pulling a small cable out of her pocket and sticking one end of it into her communicator. The other end plugged into a small screen embedded in a nearby wall, and Fay quickly jogged over and linked her communicator up to the building's computer. She swiped past a few old files, and ran a program that one of her teammates, Haley, had cooked up just for this occasion. She was a whiz hacker, and by methods that she could only guess at, Haley had a disturbingly comprehensive knowledge of the security systems used by almost every major corporation used in the system. Her communicator thought for a second, and eventually, the loading wheel on it ceased to spin and gave her a bright green checkmark. She looked back up, and saw that the screen was no longer just displaying Space Dynamics spinning logo, but had pulled up some kind of old fashioned command prompt, complete with blinking white bar on a black background. Haley had groaned when Fay asked for instructions past this point, grumbling something about being able to pull up a shell through four dimensional address randomization and hardware encoded canaries, but had ultimately obliged and somewhat sarcastically scribbled down a numbered set of commands that she now needed to type in.

Carefully, the spaniel entered each command line by line, and while she may not have understood all the tech talk that Haley had jotted down, it seemed to do the trick. Once she had hit enter on the last command, all of the hidden security systems around the room revealed themselves. There were laser tripwires around the pillar, pressure sensors on every other floor tile, cardiac registers aimed at the sphere, and much more. However, with one click on her communicator, Fay made all of them disappear before her eyes, the once red tripwires turning green with authentication, the cameras on the wall shutting their lenses. Fay smiled. She was in.

Rolling her shoulders and cracking her neck, Fay stepped up to the pillar. She needed to check for any remaining hidden traps or sensors now, just to make sure she wasn't going to get chased by a giant rolling boulder once she slipped it into her pocket. Her shoes squeaked against the shiny floor with each step as she lowered her face down close to the sphere's surface, her breath fogging the shiny black plastic. She couldn't see any obfuscated pressure plates or lasers. When she switched her communicator over to receive short range signals, she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary emanating from the pillar. With a click, Fay flipped her wristcom back up. She was in the clear.

Or at least, Fay thought she was, shortly before a blinding light detonated at her feet.

Fay felt like a cannonball had slammed her in the stomach. She hurtled through the air for only a split second before colliding with the back wall. A blow like that normally would've left her crumpled and broken on the floor, but thankfully, she saw her shield flare blue in her peripherals, absorbing most of the bone shattering blow. Even with her barrier's help though, the spaniel was still left coughing and gasping on the floor, supported by shaky hands and knees. Her heart was thundering in her chest. Her muscles were vibrating, singing with tension. And now, she was pissed.

Fay's head shot back up as she scanned the room, her mouth pulled back in a snarl. There, she found a lone figure standing on the opposite end of the room, their stance defensive, carrying some kind of launcher that was aimed directly at her. Her assailant was wearing a full suit of power armor and stood more than a foot taller than her, and clearly had no intention of letting the spaniel get anywhere near that sphere.

"Stay down," a metallic, filtered voice came from her suited opponent, too robotic to make out anything other than their intimidating voice. "Next time, it'll be worse than an airblast grenade." So her attacker had used a non-lethal explosive the first time. Fay let out a sharp growl, zipping back up to her feet in the blink of an eye. They should've shot to kill the first time. Fay wouldn't give them another opportunity.

The power armor's servos whirred as her aggressor braced her feet against the ground and pulled the trigger, sending a rocket hurtling for where the spaniel was standing. Fay grinned when her opponent looked visibly taken aback, however, when Fay cleared the explosive radius with ease, already nearly behind them by the time the rocket detonated with a shredding roar. The suit hissed and clanked as they struggled to keep Fay in view. The spaniel saw a few crates stacked near the wall, and saw her opening. She needed height. The canine used the boxes as a springboard, shoving hard off the first and then the second and stretching her hand up, reaching for the catwalk railing. Her fingers locked around it as another rocket obliterated the crates she'd just been jumping off of, peppering her shield with pinpricks of blue as the rubble bounced off her. In one motion, she hefted her legs over the barrier and took off sprinting. Her opponent's hunched posture indicated that they weren't pleased with how much of a nuisance she was being, but then, she didn't really care what they thought. With her sensitive ears, Fay heard the telltale sound of a metal sliding against metal, and sure enough when she glanced over, she saw her attacker pulling back the launcher's loading compartment. They clicked one more rocket off of their belt and began to jam it into the entrance. This was Fay's chance.

Fay cut loose any restraint that she was still holding onto, and like a bullet, she dashed for the opposite catwalk. One rocket clacked into place. She wouldn't give them time to load the second. Fay rounded the corner by cutting across it, vaulting over the empty air where the two paths met and hitting the ground at top speed. The second rocket clicked as it came off their belt, but Fay grinned. She'd already won.

The spaniel scampered along the wall before kicking off it, sending her careening for the middle of the room — directly on top of where the person in power armor had dug in and fortified. They glanced up when they heard Fay launch off the metallic grate, but it was too late. All they could do was raise their unloaded launcher defensively across their body as they saw the small canine sailing through the air, a wild look in her eye, her shock baton held high in both hands. In a cacophony of fiery orange sparks, Fay brought her weapon down as hard as she could on the launcher. A shockwave blasted them both with smoke and air as the launcher shorted out, the force of the impact alone leaving a dent in the weapon. Fay rolled away quickly, still holding her recharging baton in one hand as she eyed up her opponent, waiting for their next move. The assailant twisted back around once they had recovered, frustration clear in their wide stance. They pulled back the trigger of their weapon a few times, but to no avail. Fay's shock baton had totaled it.

The spaniel heard a dissatisfied grunt come through the suit's voice modulator. As if it were just a toy, the armored attacker tossed their cannon away, and Fay heard it crumple in a shriek of metal as it hit the wall. Now that Fay had a moment to breathe, she realized how peculiar her opponent's power armor was. The parts that weren't gunmetal were painted in a dull orange, a far cry from Space Dynamic's usual color scheme of cherry red and royal blue. Clearly they weren't the company's security, so who were they? Another thief come to try and steal the priceless data she was after? Unfortunately, they didn't seem eager to give Fay more than a second to mull the question over. The white dog was brought back to the scene in front of her by the jarring sound of crunching concrete as the person in armor lifted their leg up, and then slammed it back down into the floor with the force of a jackhammer. They took a few lumbering, aggressive steps towards her while smashing their fists together, the chilling sound of titanium crashing against titanium echoing against the walls and into her ears. Fay wouldn't be so easily intimidated, however. She grinned her trademark smile at her attacker, raising her fists and crouching into a mobile offensive posture. She threw an incendiary wink at them, beckoning for them to bring it on with one hand. Her taunting worked.

Fay barely managed to roll to one side as a giant metal fist slammed into the floor directly where she had been standing. It left a hollow indentation behind when they ripped their embedded hand back out of the floor in a shower of debris. There would be no wasted time in their brawl though, and as soon as Fay's adversary was back on their feet, she found a titanium heel rushing straight for her gut. Fay sunk to her knees fast to dodge the blow. When they tried to bring that same foot back down on top of her now that she was on the floor, Fay spotted her opening. Instead of letting her ribs be pulverized into powder, Fay grabbed hold of their calf and pushed hard off the floor. She used the extra momentum stolen from her opponent's leg to propel her upwards, and before they could react, Fay was perched atop the suit's shoulders, her thighs locked around its neck. Before she could be bucked off her rodeo ride, Fay slammed the end of her baton down in the narrow region between the helmet and shoulder plate of the power armor, feeling it connect with soft plastic and flesh underneath. The spaniel braced, ready to evacuate when her opponent would inevitably topple in pain at the precise strike.

Fay felt a sinking feeling brew in her gut the longer she stayed nestled atop her opponent's shoulders, however, feeling like a kid being carried by their parent at a theme park. The spaniel gulped and tried to scramble away when she heard a low, amused chuckle rumbling from inside the power armor, but it was too late. Whoever was under this armor was much tougher than she had given them credit for. Fay yipped in alarm when she felt two Herculean hands clamp down on her shorts and vest, and ripped the spaniel off their back like a pesky fly. She was suspended in the air for just a moment before being hurled away, landing hard and smashing a few wooden containers in the corner of the room. Her shield fizzled again as it took the brunt of the weight, but this time, it didn't glow blue as it rebounded back to full power. This had been the last straw for it, and with a small _snap_ , she heard the shield generator break under the effort. Fay brushed off her clothes as she rose back up, her mouth in a thin line. Without her shield, she couldn't afford to let this fight go on any longer. She wouldn't get any more second chances. That meant that she needed to finish this engagement as soon as she could. It was now or never.

Fay broke out in another sprint, but this time she wasn't going to try and circle her adversary. Fay needed to disable them now, before either she got herself tossed out a window or police backup inevitably busted through the door. So, instead of running away, Fay ran straight for her deadly opponent. This caught them off guard, and their reactionary blow proved to be too slow, whiffing the air where she had been a fraction of a second earlier. That was exactly the opening that Fay needed. As she was sliding underneath their swinging arm, Fay aimed her wrist for the suit's foot, and pulled the trigger on her grappling hook. With a burst of pressurized air, the metal hook shot out of its prison, flattening and magnetizing to their heel. When Fay flipped back up to her feet, she saw her adversary staring down at the hook in confusion, already bending down to try and rip it off. Before they could, however, Fay threw herself back at her aggressor, and moments before they could remove the hook by brute force, she dove over their arched back, winding the cord around their arm and legs, and yanking it taut. The armored hand flew wide, shoved out of the way by the new loop Fay had made around her attacker. In that moment, the spaniel knew that her opponent had figured out what she was trying to do.

The armored fighter desperately tried to break free of the ropes Fay had binded them up with, but each time they reached to try and break the cable, Fay tangled them up in another layer, ducking and rolling and weaving around them as they slowly lost all mobility. Finally, with one last burst of effort and a loud pant of breath, Fay drew the rope tight once more. She stood at the ready for their next round, but her enemy was helplessly immobile. She could see them struggle against the meters of cable wrapped around them, but all it did was cause them to slowly start to lean and fall to the floor with a satisfying _thud_ , now just a harmless ball on the floor. Fay stood back up shakily, still breathing heavily from exertion. She had done it. The armored stranger still jostled on the floor, loosing an expletive every few seconds, but they wouldn't be going anywhere until the cops showed up and hauled them in. Fay had won.

She let out a victorious cry, bounding up and down and pumping her fist a couple times. "Suck it, jerk!" she laughed, sticking her tongue out at them as she celebrated. Fay turned back around the face her prize, a wide, goofy grin plastered on her mouth. She readjusted her bow as she stepped up to it, admiring the sphere for just a moment. The spaniel has thought it looked good before, but now that she'd kicked this wannabe's ass for it, her winnings looked so much better. She picked it up in one hand, feeling its solid mass weigh down in her fingers, rolling it between her palms a few times. When she turned it over to look at the bottom, she saw the calligraphic _M_ emblazoned on the bottom that both inspired a spike of sadness in her heart and let her know that this was the real deal. She was about to pocket it, however, when she heard something whirring behind her.

When Fay turned around to see what it was, her stomach turned to lead. Instead of seeing her defeated opponent still struggling on the floor, she saw them slowly rising up to their full height, the once tight ropes now slipping away and falling to the floor, slashed to ribbons. Fay put two and two together when she saw the full gleam of a hunting knife in the stranger's off hand. They must have cut the ropes with a hidden knife while she'd been busy gloating. And, unfortunately, the news only got worse. The white canine groaned and grudgingly raised her hands above her head when she saw the barrel of a gun protruding from the suit's wrist, aimed right for her center of mass.

"Put the sphere down," the robotic voice commanded. Fay had no choice but to oblige. She couldn't find a way out of being held at gunpoint, especially without her shield or grappling hook. With a short huff, Fay set her loot back down on its pedestal. "Leave. I don't want to kill you," they continued. The spaniel wanted nothing more than to charge and lay a fist right to their face, but she knew that would neither hurt her adversary and would only end up with her earning a few bullets to the chest.

"Fine," Fay said, starting to sidle over towards her escape route while facing forwards the entire time. "But I'll be back for round two. I hope you're as ready as I am," she said in a raised voice. It only made her more steaming mad when the stranger said nothing, ignoring her and moving towards the sphere that only moments ago had been hers. Fay wanted so badly to throw down with this stranger one more time, but even if she thought that she could win, she knew that she was already cutting it close to when cops would be busting that door down. She shook her head, changing gears to survival instead of retrieval. It was time to evacuate. Fay got a running start, kicking in a vent near the floor and starting to slide herself into it. However, before she could slip out of view, she took one last long look at the person in the power armor. She would see them again soon. Fay shoved off the ground, sliding down the steep incline of the cooling vent. This wasn't over.

The stranger heard the clatter of the small canine vanishing as she escaped the building. They glanced over their shoulder briefly to confirm she was gone, but most of their attention was focused on the sphere they held in their hand. They reached one hand up to their neckline, hearing a hiss of pneumatics as they took their helmet off to get a better look, revealing the face of a serious looking lynx to the empty room. Miyu Lynx held the sphere a little closer, to her eyes, investigating. Of course, all its secrets were held under the surface, and they weren't really her problem in the first place.

"Why do so many people want you?" Miyu murmured quietly to herself, enraptured by its sleek simplicity. "What are you hiding?"

Her questions were interrupted by the sudden sound of pounding at the large metal doors, quickly followed by a stream of sparks flying inwards as welders began to work on cutting the gates open.

"Cornerian Special Forces! Come out with your hands behind your head!" an amplified voice yelled out from behind the door, sounding resolute, and just as cookie cutter as every other law officer she'd ever encountered. Miyu stowed the sphere in her suit's backpack, and then produced a second machine gun barrel from her suit's other wrist. This had been a delay she wasn't expecting. Now…. she'd have to fight her way out.

/

A/N: New Brace for Impact chapter, and a new character! Enter Fay Spaniel, runner extraordinaire and total cutie. Looks like more people are after these data spheres than just Star Fox! And don't worry, we'll be getting back to Fox and Krystal in the next chapter. Act 2 just means the introduction of a lot of characters that will make this story especially juicy :) I hope you guys enjoyed, and keep your eyes peeled for more stuff from me soon! Bye!


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